Security forces "arrested an armed group which attacked al-Kindi hospital", one of the main ones in the Iraqi capital, a police statement said.

About ten people were involved in the attack and were all arrested, the security source said.

They belonged to the family of one of the four patients who died earlier when a power cut turned off ventilators, according to this source.

The situation in hospitals across the country has often been catastrophic during the pandemic.

There have been two deadly fires in less than three months in Covid-19 units, with one killing more than 80 people in Baghdad in April and the most recent killing at least 60 on Monday in southern Nassiriya.

Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, which has claimed more than 17,700 lives in Iraq, Covid units have been hastily built to care for patients. The country, however, remains subject to incessant power cuts.