ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A Palestinian woman working in a nightclub in Duhok died after suffering from severe burns in a mysterious fire, the cause of which remains unknown.
Isra Yousef, 41, known as Janan worked at a nightclub in Duhok, and died after 23 hours in the hospital due to the severe burns. The fire incinerated 80 percent of her body.
CCTV footage shows Janan walking down from her apartment building on her feet at 2:00 am on the night of the fire, she was covered with a blanket.
Rudaw visited her apartment to obtain more information regarding the incident, but the doors were locked, and the neighbors had moved out.
“I heard screaming and shouting, so I ran from my bedroom to another room to see what was happening. I looked out and saw this building across from us. I saw the woman's body below, completely charred,” said an eyewitness on the condition of anonymity.
“I hadn't noticed any troubling signs from her before; she had been living in that apartment for a year,” he added.
The reason for the fire remains unknown.
Rudaw tried to visit her workplace and talk to her friends, but we could not find anyone. But the investigation team was able to reach out to one of her friends.
“I don't know if she set herself on fire or if someone else did. All I could do was take her to the hospital. I don't know who did this. An officer at the hospital spoke with her and didn't let us see her. I wanted to do her a favor and prevent revealing her identity, but they didn't hand her over to me,” said one of Janan's friends who wished to remain anonymous.
Janan's family remains unknown. Rudaw learned that she is the daughter of a Palestinian father and an Iraqi mother. She had been living in the Kurdistan Region since 2003 and moved to Duhok four years ago.
The forensic department in Duhok said that they will keep the woman's body for another two to three months in hopes that a family member will come to claim the body. In case no one comes forward, it will be handed over to the municipality for burial.
Haydar Doski contributed to this report from Duhok
