Sandstorm strikes Baghdad

ROUGH CUT (NO REPORTER NARRATION)

STORY: Baghdad was choking on Thursday in one of its worst sandstorms in memory, which packed hospital emergency wards with people gasping for breath and made traffic move slowly through the streets.

It was yet another trial for ordinary Iraqis in the capital, who suffered a series of more than 20 attacks attacks early in the day that left 36 people dead and more than 100 others wounded.

The massive and blinding dust storm that swept over the Iraqi capital sent residents scrambling for cover and halting drivers. There was near zero visibility on the streets.

Policemen wearing masks directed thin streams of traffic through eerily misty streets. Hospital emergency rooms were packed with people complaining about breathing problems, officials said.

The storm caused health issues, affecting people's eyes and afflicted asthma patients flooded the city's hospitals with people, many of them elderly, suffering breathing difficulties.

Baghdad's Medical City said more than 60 patients arrived during the first hours of the storm, adding that the number is on the rise.