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Dozens Killed As Suicide Bomber Strikes Soccer Match Near Baghdad


Dozens of people have been killed by a suicide-bomb attack south of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad.

A bomber struck a crowd at a soccer match in a village outside Baghdad on March 25, killing at least 29 people and injuring around 65, a police spokesman said.

The mayor of the nearby town of Iskandariyah was reportedly among the dead.

The attack occurred in a mixed Sunni-Shi'ite area that has suffered tremendously over the last decade from sectarian violence. On March 6, 47 people were killed by a truck bomb near the city of Hilla a little further south.

The Islamic State group (IS) claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement posted online, SITE intelligence group, a monitoring organization, reported.

Iraqi security forces have made a priority of pushing back IS militants in this area since it was taken over by IS in 2014 with some success. Although IS has largely been eliminated from the area, sectarian tensions remain high.

Based on reporting by AP, AFP, and Reuters

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