Iraq ballot warehouse fire 'deliberate'

BAGHDAD, June 11 (AFP): The fire that ravaged a Baghdad warehouse where votes from May's legislative election were stored ahead of a recount was started "deliberately," Iraqi Interior Minister Qassem al-Araji said Monday.

The fire ripped through the warehouse Sunday ahead of a vote recount prompted by allegations of fraud during the election that saw a surprise victory for a populist cleric and Iraqi voters dumping the old guard.

"There is no doubt that it was a deliberate act and I am personally following up on the investigation with the criminal police and the committee tasked with probing the fire," Araji said.

Firefighters brought the blaze under control several hours after it broke out in a warehouse located in Al-Russafa, one of the largest voting districts in eastern Baghdad.