Popular market opened north of Kut

WASSIT/ IraqiNews.com: A $209 million popular market has been inaugurated in the north of Kut city, a local media source said on Monday. “Today, Wassit Governor Lateef Hamd al-Tarfa opened a popular market in al-Numaniya district (40 km north of Kut),” Majid al-Itabi told IraqiNews.com. The market, established on an area of 5,000 square meters, includes 72 shops, he added. A Shiite province, Wassit, 180 km south of Baghdad, is in the east of the country. Its name comes from the Arabic word meaning “middle,” as it lies along the Tigris about midway between Baghdad and Basra. Its major cities include the capital, al-Kut, and al-Hayy. Prior to 1976 it was known as Kut Province. SS (P)