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Three Electrocuted in Iraq Floods

Iraq is one of the hottest countries on earth but when heavy rains do hit they can result in casualties and widespread damage because of deteriorating public infrastructure | AFP
Iraq is one of the hottest countries on earth but when heavy rains do hit they can result in casualties and widespread damage because of deteriorating public infrastructure | AFP
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Three Electrocuted in Iraq Floods

Iraq is one of the hottest countries on earth but when heavy rains do hit they can result in casualties and widespread damage because of deteriorating public infrastructure | AFP
Iraq is one of the hottest countries on earth but when heavy rains do hit they can result in casualties and widespread damage because of deteriorating public infrastructure | AFP

At least three people have been electrocuted in central Iraq after torrential rain played havoc with the war-ravaged country's dilapidated power grid, a medical official said Thursday.

The three deaths happened in separate incidents in the central province of Babil, said Dr Ahmed Sabbah, director of the Institute of Forensic Medicine in the provincial capital Hilla, AFP said.

The dead were aged 16, 22 and 30 and one of them was a woman, Sabbah told AFP.

They had all gone outside to switch off the main supply to their homes during Wednesday's storm, for fear that power fluctuations would damage their household electrical appliances.

The storm brought disruption to large parts of Iraq, not just Babil province, south of Baghdad.

Prime Minister Mohamed Shia al-Sudani ordered civil servants to stay home nationwide on Thursday, except for key staff and security personnel.

In the northern Kurdistan region, the rains sent a river of mud pouring through the village of Khabat, with several shops suffering water damage, an AFP photographer reported.

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Lebanon Says Israeli Airstrike Hits Target in East

This picture taken from a position in northern Israel, near the border with Lebanon, shows an Israeli flag (L) on a destroyed building, and a Lebanese flag (R) painted on a damaged building in the southern Lebanese village of Mais al-Jabal on November 25, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (AFP)
This picture taken from a position in northern Israel, near the border with Lebanon, shows an Israeli flag (L) on a destroyed building, and a Lebanese flag (R) painted on a damaged building in the southern Lebanese village of Mais al-Jabal on November 25, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (AFP)
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Lebanon Says Israeli Airstrike Hits Target in East

This picture taken from a position in northern Israel, near the border with Lebanon, shows an Israeli flag (L) on a destroyed building, and a Lebanese flag (R) painted on a damaged building in the southern Lebanese village of Mais al-Jabal on November 25, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (AFP)
This picture taken from a position in northern Israel, near the border with Lebanon, shows an Israeli flag (L) on a destroyed building, and a Lebanese flag (R) painted on a damaged building in the southern Lebanese village of Mais al-Jabal on November 25, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (AFP)

Lebanon's state media said an Israeli airstrike targeted the Baalbek region in the east of the country on Wednesday, branding it a "violation" of the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.

The truce went into effect on November 27 after more than a year of hostilities that began with the outbreak of the war in the Gaza Strip.

Both sides have since accused the other of breaching the ceasefire.

Wednesday's strike near the town of Tarya did not result in casualties, the state-run National News Agency said, calling the attack the "first violation of the ceasefire agreement" in the Baalbek area, AFP reported.

A Lebanese security source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the strike targeted "warehouses believed to belong to Hezbollah".

Hezbollah has for decades held sway in south Beirut, and the south and east of the country.

The war with Israel saw Hezbollah massively weakened but not crushed.

A committee made up of the United States, France, Lebanon, Israel and United Nations peacekeepers is tasked with monitoring the ceasefire and ensuring violations are identified and dealt with.

Lebanon has asked the parties -- particularly the United States and France -- to press Israel to speed up its withdrawal from the country's south under the terms of the deal.

As part of the truce, the Lebanese army and peacekeepers will deploy in southern Lebanon as the Israeli army pulls out over a period of 60 days, which are due to expire in January 2025.

The Israeli army said on Monday that it was continuing its "defensive activities" in the south "in accordance with the agreement".

It has yet to issue a statement on the reported strike in eastern Lebanon.