ISIS has claimed responsibility for suicide bombing in Iskanderiyah
BAGHDAD (Iraq) – Suicide bomber killed at least 29 people and wounded 60 others in an attack on a crowd gathered at a soccer stadium south of Baghdad. The blast occurred during a trophy presentation in the village of Iskanderiyah about 25 miles south of the Iraqi capital.
The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militant group claimed responsibility for the attack that wreaked carnage on the field where supporters, officials and security forces were gathered after the game.
The terror group has also reportedly claimed responsibility for the gruesome Brussels airport and metro bombings earlier this week. Those bombings killed 31 people and wounded 270 more.
The United States condemns today’s suicide bombing said, “We extend our condolences to the families and friends of the victims of this cowardly attack. Medical officials confirmed the death toll to the Associated Press. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the press.
18 year old witness Ali Nashmi said, ‘The suicide bomber cut through the crowd to approach the centre of the gathering and blew him up as the mayor was presenting awards to the players.’ The mayor, Ahmed Shaker, was among the dead, he added.
Iskandariyah is part of a mixed Sunni-Shiite area south of Baghdad which was once dubbed “the triangle of death” and was badly affected by sectarian violence last decade.
Further south, at least 61 people were killed when a truck bomb exploded at a checkpoint at the entrance of the city of Hilla on March 6. The attack was the deadliest car bomb explosion in Iraq this year.