Egypt offers condolences to Iraq for victims of Kut shopping mall fire

CAIRO – 17 July 2025: Egypt expressed its sincere condolences to Iraq following the fire that broke out in the city of Kut in eastern Iraq, which resulted in dozens of deaths and injuries.

The government and people of Egypt extended their sincere condolences to the government and people of Iraq and to the families of the victims following this painful tragedy, said the Egyptian Foreign Ministry in a statement on Thursday.

Egypt affirmed its full solidarity with the sisterly Republic of Iraq and expresses its wishes for a speedy recovery for the injured.

More than 60 people were killed and dozens were injured after a huge fire broke out in a recently-inaugurated five-story commercial mall in the city of Kut, Iraq, on Wednesday evening, announced the Iraqi Ministry of Interior in a statement on Thursday.

Most of the victims suffocated to death in bathrooms as a result of the heavy smoke. Among them, there were 14 unidentified charred bodies, the statement added.

The mall housed a restaurant and a hypermarket, which had been open only seven days earlier, according to the statement. 

The Civil Defense teams rescued more than 45 people trapped inside the building.

The Ministry of Interior instructed forming a high-level investigation committee, headed by the minister's technical advisor, to probe into the real causes of the fire and accurately and transparently identify the areas of failure.

The Iraqi government announced a three-day mourning for this tragic loss.