Man drowns near Samarra Dam in Saladin; sorcerer arrested in Falluja; bull injures bystanders in Mosul

SALADIN, Iraq — A 23-year-old man drowned in the water near stone quarries close to the Samarra Dam in Saladin province, according to a local security source. Divers and boats from the Defense Intervention Unit were dispatched to the site, but strong currents have hampered efforts to recover his body. Security forces have cordoned off the area to support the search-and-rescue operation. In Anbar province, the Anbar Police Directorate said a suspect accused of practicing sorcery and fortune-telling was arrested in the Falluja district following intelligence information. The operation was carried out by the Julan Police Center under the East Anbar Police Directorate and supervised by Anbar Police Director Major General Adel Hamid Rashid. Items used by the suspect were seized and legal proceedings have been opened. Separately, a bull escaped from its pen at a livestock market on the northern side of Mosul, jumping over a wall and charging into a crowd of shoppers and traders. Footage of the incident circulated widely on social media. Several people sustained minor injuries before bystanders managed to calm the animal.