A view of a scene after a large gas cylinder exploded in a residential area in the northern Iraqi city of Sulaimaniya, Iraq, Nov. 17, 2022.(Credit: Stringer/Reuters)
SULAIMANIYA—Fifteen people were killed in a gas cylinder explosion in a residential area in the northern Iraqi city of Sulaimaniya, the civil defense said on Friday.
A rescue operation lasting 17 hours had now ended, the civil defense added.
Earlier on Friday, Haval Abubaker, the governor of Sulaimaniya province, announced three days of mourning.
Civil defense firefighters managed to contain the fire that broke out in a residential area after the gas cylinder exploded on Thursday. The fire damaged several houses and destroyed at least five vehicles, police said.
Police officers said at least three houses were completely destroyed by the explosion of a cooking gas cylinder that was installed on the rooftop of one of the homes.
