Title: Iraq: Over 500 Cases of Suffocation Due to Dust Storm

The Iraqi Ministry of Health announced that more than 500 individuals have been hospitalized due to suffocation caused by a dust storm that hit the country. Saif Al-Badr, the spokesman for the Iraqi Ministry of Health, stated that "health institutions in Baghdad and other provinces received more than 515 cases of suffocation," noting that "the conditions of the patients vary." Iraq has been suffering from poor weather conditions repeatedly for years due to dust storms, resulting from the increasing areas of desertification caused by successive drought waves.