Iraqi Christian religious leaders demand an international investigation into deadly wedding fire

By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA and BASSEM MROUE
Associated Press

BAGHDAD (AP) — Christian religious leaders in Iraq are calling for an international investigation into a deadly wedding fire that killed more than 100 people last week. They slammed the Iraqi government’s probe that had blamed the blaze on negligence and lack of precautionary measures. Iraq released the results of its probe on Sunday, saying that unsafe fireworks were the main reason that caused the fire. Scores of panicked guests surged for the exits on Tuesday night in the Haitham Royal Wedding Hall in the predominantly Christian area of Hamdaniya after the ceiling panels above a pyrotechnic machine burst into flames.