IRAQ: A car bomb explodes near a soccer pitch in the predominantly Shi'ite Iraqi city of Hilla, killing nine young players and fans
Record ID:
862052
IRAQ: A car bomb explodes near a soccer pitch in the predominantly Shi'ite Iraqi city of Hilla, killing nine young players and fans
- Title: IRAQ: A car bomb explodes near a soccer pitch in the predominantly Shi'ite Iraqi city of Hilla, killing nine young players and fans
- Date: 27th June 2012
- Summary: HILLA, IRAQ (JUNE 25, 2012) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (REUTERS) (NIGHT SHOTS) SCENE OF BLAST WITH AMBULANCE VEHICLE PARKING NEAR AND DEBRIS SCATTERED ALL OVER SCENE WRECKED CAR BEING LIFTED AND LOADED ON LARGE-BED VEHICLE MORE OF WRECKED MINIBUS BEING REMOVED FROM SCENE IRAQI POLICEMAN EXAMINING WRECKED CAR AT SCENE FIREMEN WALKING PAST DAMAGED CARS AT SCENE GROUND LITTERED BY DEBRIS
- Embargoed: 12th July 2012 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Iraq
- City:
- Country: Iraq
- Topics: Crime,Conflict
- Reuters ID: LVA8RJCS2BHLQ0S32B7JJUNXMDS2
- Aspect Ratio:
- Story Text: Nine young soccer players and fans were killed on Monday (June 25) when a bomb exploded near a pitch south of Baghdad, health officials said, in the latest of a wave of attacks raising fears of a return to widespread sectarian violence.
The explosion in the predominantly Shi'ite Muslim city of Hilla came the same day as police and hospital sources said a roadside bomb killed five people near a pet shop popular with young people in a Sunni Muslim area of the eastern city of Baquba.
More than 140 people have been killed in June in bombings targeting mainly Shi'ite pilgrims and shrines as political and sectarian tensions remain high.
Iraq's Shi'ite, Sunni and Kurdish factions have been locked in a series of political spats since U.S. troops withdrew in December, with opponents to Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki accusing him of trying to consolidate power at their expense.
In Hilla, the bomb attached to a minibus exploded near a field where two youth teams had just finished a game, said police and hospital sources.
"There was a crowd of people here and there were many cars which came from all the neighbourhoods. There were also two police vehicles but people were entering (the soccer field) without being searched because they were all players and those who detonated the bomb were wearing sports clothes too. The car blew up as people started to leave, damaging our houses," said Sameer Hamza, a resident of the area.
The dead and injured soccer players and fans were aged between 15 and 20, said Abdul Amir al-Jibouri, an official at health department in Babil province. More than 30 others were injured, he added.
Hilla is 100 km (62 miles) south of Baghdad while Baquba is 65 km northeast of capital.
Violence in Iraq has fallen since the peak of sectarian fighting in 2006-07, but insurgents remain capable of carrying out lethal attacks.
Iraq's al Qaeda wing has claimed some of the recent bombings against Shi'ites as it tries to stoke tensions.
At least 13 people were killed and more than 100 wounded on Friday when two roadside bombs exploded in a crowded market in a mainly Shi'ite area of Baghdad. A suicide bomber killed 15 mourners at a Shi'ite funeral in Baquba on Monday last week. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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