Fire on harvested farmland near Mosul contained after five hours

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Civil defense teams in Nineveh brought a large fire that broke out across harvested farmland in and around the northern Mosul district of Talkayf under control after roughly five hours, using 15 fire engines. The flames spread from areas within the district toward the Duhok border and the nearby Shaykhan district, the directorate said. The Civil Defense Directorate reported that the fire was extinguished before it could spread to nearby villages, factories or other facilities, and that no casualties or injuries were recorded. Initial findings indicate the fire may have started after some farmers burned post-harvest agricultural waste, the directorate added. A civil defense official urged farmers to refrain from setting fire to crop residue. Gizvan Davudi, Nineveh's deputy governor and head of the harvest committee, said the fires were caused by stubble burning carried out by farmers after the harvest.