Iraq PM suspends health minister over Covid-19 hospital fire

Mourners attend the funeral of people who were killed in a fire at a hospital in southeastern Baghdad that had been equipped to house Covid-19 patients, in Najaf, Iraq, April 25, 2021. Credit: Reuters Photo

Iraq's Prime Minister on Sunday suspended Health Minister Hassan al-Tamimi while he is questioned over a fire in a Baghdad Covid-19 hospital that killed 82 people.

Read: Fire at Baghdad Covid hospital kills 82, sparks anger

Baghdad governor Mohammed Jaber and the head of the health department for eastern Baghdad, where the Ibn al-Khatib hospital is located, will also be questioned, said a statement from Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi.

"The results of this investigation will be presented to the government within five days," the statement added.