A storage depot in northern Erbil’s industrial zone caught fire early Saturday morning. The blaze was fed by flammable goods inside the building and it took hours for fire fighting crews to bring it under control.
The cause was initially believed to have been an electrical fault, but the Asayish on Sunday said that it was arson, adding they have security footage from the scene that shows a hooded man in black and with a mask covering his face starting the blaze.
“Following the incident, our teams began investigating and concluded that the fire was not due to an electrical fault, but rather an individual committing the crime on purpose,” said the Asayish in a statement.
A suspect, whose full name was not revealed, was arrested after obtaining a judge’s warrant, according to the statement, which added that the man had confessed to the crime.
The owner of the depot, Ibrahim Khidir, estimated the material loss from the fire was around 10 million dollars.
There have been several major fires in Erbil recently. Karwan Mirawdali, spokesperson for Erbil civil defence directorate, told reporters on Saturday that there had been at least 186 fires in the first two months of 2024.
A large fire engulfed the city’s Langa bazar late last month, allegedly caused by an electric short circuit, burning hundreds of shops.
At least three people, including two children, were injured when their house caught fire in Erbil’s Soran district on Tuesday, in an incident attributed to a gas leak.
