Three separate incidents reported in Iraq: drowning, abandoned newborn, kidnapping arrest

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Police and emergency services in three Iraqi provinces responded to separate incidents on Friday, ranging from a drowning to the rescue of an abandoned newborn and the arrest of a kidnapping suspect, local authorities said. In Saladin province, a young man drowned in the Tigris River in the Bayji district in the north of the province, according to the provincial police river units. A companion who was with him at the time was rescued. In the southern province of Dhi Qar, a newborn baby was found abandoned in a restroom at Nasiriya Teaching Hospital and was placed in an incubator after hospital staff alerted the authorities. The infant was reported to be receiving care, and no further details were immediately available. In Maysan province, security forces said they arrested a suspect in the city of Amara who had allegedly lured a woman into a trap, kidnapped her and held her for financial extortion. The provincial police said the man was taken into custody under Article 421 of the Iraqi Penal Code.