Iraq’s health minister resigns over hospital fire

Iraq’s health minister resigned Tuesday over a week after a deadly blaze killed dozens of people in a Baghdad hospital for COVID-19 patients that officials said was caused by negligence.

Iraq’s prime minister approved the resignation request submitted by Health Minister Hasan Al-Tamimi, according to a statement from his office.

The resignation came shortly after the Cabinet voted on the recommendations of an investigative committee that probed the catastrophic fire at Ibn Al-Khatib Hospital.

The fire, which broke out late April 24 and raged for hours, killed 82 people and wounded over 100, according to the Interior Ministry. Cabinet members approved recommendations to take disciplinary action against the hospital’s director and administrative assistant, relieving them of their positions. They also approved a recommendation to lift the suspensions of Al-Tamimi and Baghdad’s governor.

The health minister resigned despite the vote.