Videos on social media showed flames reaching the ceiling near check-in counters at one of the terminals, with the hall engulfed in smoke.

"The fire lasted several minutes and three people were treated for light respiratory difficulty," the civil defence official told AFP, requesting anonymity.

"The fire did not affect air traffic," the same source added, without identifying the cause of the blaze.

State news agency INA said the fire broke out "at a refreshments area in the departure hall".

Conflict, neglect and endemic corruption have left oil-rich Iraq's infrastructure in disrepair.

Safety standards in both the transport and construction sector are frequently flouted, and accidents are a common occurrence.

Baghdad's airport has not undergone considerable internal renovations since it opened in the 1980s during the era of dictator Saddam Hussein.

Late last month, a gas tanker exploded in Baghdad, killing at least nine people and injuring 13 others, in what security forces said was an accident.