Massive power outage hits Iraq amid summer heatwave after fire, sabotage
- Fire at power station in Basra caused complete electrical shutdown in southern and central Iraq
- Outage coincided with peak summer electricity demand and Shiite holiday of Ashoura
- Separate incident involved sabotage of transmission towers in the north
- Power loss disrupted other services like tap water supply in Baghdad
- Iraq has chronic electricity shortages despite oil wealth; expanding capacity to meet demand