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