Bird flu caused Iraqi girl's death

A United Nations official and the health minister in Iraqi Kurdistan today said a 15-year-old girl who died earlier this month in northern Iraq was a victim of the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu, the first known case of the disease in the country.

“Today we started a campaign to kill birds in three towns – Ranya, Dukan and Qaladaza. We formed committees to do so,” said Kurdistan Health Minister Mohammed Khoshnow.