Fire In Maternity Ward Kills 11 Babies

At least 11 babies died when a fire broke out in the maternity ward of a Baghdad hospital early Wednesday, the Iraqi Health Ministry said. The babies were in the pre-term birth unit in Yarmouk Hospital and died of suffocation, said Ahmed al-Rdainy, a spokesman for the ministry.A preliminary report provided by the Civil Defense indicates the fire was caused by an electrical short circuit. Twenty-nine women delivered babies at the hospital Tuesday night, the spokesman said. They were all transferred to other hospitals in Baghdad.