Iraqi officials say a fire engulfed a newly opened shopping center in eastern Iraq, killing more than 60 people in eastern Wasit province.

From the Middle East, we verified footage of the deadly fire in Kut, Iraq, which is now known to have killed at least 61 people, and the aftermath of recent clashes in Syria which also appear to have claimed many lives. BBC Verify uses open-source intelligence, satellite imagery, fact-checking and data analysis to help report complex stories

A fire broke out late on Wednesday night in a five-story commercial building in Kut city, located in Wasit Province. The building had only opened a week ago, housed a hypermarket, a restaurant, and several other retail shops.

Following a deadly shopping center fire in Kut, Wasit, condolences have poured into Iraq from the UN, US, Turkey, and the Arab Parliament, with the UN pledging support.

Maurene Comey, a federal prosecutor in the cases against accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein and hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs, has been fired. Although a reason for the dismissal was not immediately clear, she is also the daughter of James Comey, who is the former director of the FBI and a critic of President Donald Trump.