Floods kill 7, destroy thousands of homes in N. Iraq

By Idris Okuducu

SALADIN, Iraq (AA) – At least seven people in northern Iraq, including women and children, have been killed by floods, while thousands of homes have been destroyed, local authorities said Friday.

According to local health and security authorities, the flooding -- which follows days of heavy rainfall -- led to the death of five women and two children in the town of Al-Shirqat in the Saladin province north of Baghdad.

Local officials, meanwhile, report that as many as 3,000 homes have been either damaged or destroyed by the floods, especially in Iraq’s northern Nineveh and Kirkuk provinces.

Several countries in the region -- including Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Jordan -- have been pounded by torrential rains in recent days that have left scores dead in their wake.