A ferry carrying families celebrating Mother’s Day and the Kurdish new year overturned on the Tigris River in the Iraqi city of Mosul on Thursday, killing at least 94 people, authorities said. According to rescuers’ initial assessment, the ferry had been loaded far beyond capacity and tipped over as it traversed the river toward Mosul’s Tourist Island. The tragedy was the latest setback for a city that has struggled to rebuild after it became, in 2017, the center of the bloodiest battle against the Islamic State in Iraq. People began enjoying small pleasures that were banned under the Islamic State. This year, Mother’s Day and Nowruz, the Kurdish and Persian new year, fell on the same day, and families throughout Iraq are celebrating a long weekend.

Source: Washington Post March 21, 2019 15:26 UTC