Fire hits Iraq’s biggest ballot warehouse before recount: security official

Baghdad (AFP) – A fire ripped through Iraq’s biggest ballot warehouse on Sunday where votes for the eastern Baghdad district were stored, before a recount ordered by parliament, a security official said.

The cause of the blaze was not immediately known but it comes as Iraq prepares for a manual recount of around 10 million votes following allegations of fraud during the May 12 legislative election that saw a surprise victory for populist Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr.