Child dies following mass food poisoning outbreak in Mosul refugee camp

One person has died following an outbreak of food poisoning at a refugee camp near the northern Iraq city of Mosul with hundeds more in a critical condition.

A child died of the illness at the Khazir camp on Monday following an iftar meal provided by a non-governmental organisation left between 800 and 900 being treated for symptons of food poisoning.

Most of the sick are children and the elderly after consuming a meal of rice, beans chicken, and a yogurt drink from an Erbil restaurant, Rudaw reported. 

Iraq's Health Minister Adila Hamoud said a woman and a girl died while at least 300 people remain in critical condition, although local media put the death toll at one.

She wouldn't speculate whether the poisoning might have been intentional.

Meals cooked outside the camp have been banned, with only food prepared in on-site kitchens allowed.

The camp houses thousands who have fled their homes in Mosul after a US-backed Iraqi offensive to dislodge the Islamic State group from the city.

Agencies contributed to this story.