Three children drown in northern Iraq, separate incidents prompt safety measures

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Three children drowned in a water canal in Tuvim village, located in the Hamaydat subdistrict of northern Nineveh province, according to a security source. The bodies of two cousins born in 2014 and another child born in 2015 were recovered from the water by rescue teams and local residents and transferred to the forensic morgue. An investigation into the incident has been opened. In a separate incident the same day, a 9-year-old child drowned while attempting to swim in the Tuzhurmatu water project in Saladin province. Saladin Governor Heysem al-Zehewan directed Tuzhurmatu District Governor Zulfikar Heyder to impose a swimming ban along the Tuz–Kifri Joint Irrigation Project, citing a rise in drowning cases linked to higher water levels and stronger currents during the summer months. Security patrols will monitor the project’s shoreline near the Jannat al-Iraq restaurant through the district’s western entrance along the main canal. In Kirkuk, a newborn baby was found abandoned on the street in the Domez neighborhood. Health sources said the infant was taken to the Children’s Hospital and placed in the neonatal intensive care unit. Security forces have opened an investigation to identify the baby’s family and pursue legal action. Authorities have called for expanded awareness efforts on water-related accidents during the summer, to be carried out in mosques, Husayniyas and community events.