Baghdad: At least 11 prematurely born babies were killed in a fire that broke out in the early hours of Wednesday on a maternity ward in a Baghdad hospital and was probably caused by an electrical fault.

The accident occurred when a fire broke out in the maternity wards of Yarmouk Hospital.

According to sources, children died of suffocation in the wards.

An initial investigation suggested the fire was due to an electricity failure, al-Roudaini added. No other details were immediately available.

Baghdad authorities quickly sealed off the hospital.

It has been reported that 29 female patients and seven babies were moved from the ward where the fire broke out and transferred to another hospital.