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A SUICIDE BOMBER blew himself up on football pitch as trophies were being presented after a local tournament south of Baghdad earlier today, killing at least 30 people.
The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack, that wreaked carnage on the field where supporters, officials and security forces were gathered after the game.
“They were just handing the trophy to the winners, the suicide attacker blew himself up in the crowd,” a police captain from the village, Al-Asriya, told AFP.
The village is near Iskandariyah, a town about 40 kilometres south of the capital.
The police captain said more than 65 people were also wounded in the blast.
A medic at Iskandariyah hospital confirmed the toll and warned it could rise further.
Pictures posted on social media of the site of the blast showed mangled goal posts smeared with blood.
“The suicide bomber cut through the crowd to approach the centre of the gathering and blew himself up as the mayor was presenting awards to the players,” said Ali Nashmi, a 18-year-old eyewitness.
The mayor, Ahmed Shaker, was among the dead.
“The mayor died in hospital as a result of the serious wounds he suffered in the blast,” the medic said, adding that one of his bodyguards and at least five members of the security forces were also among those killed.
The jihadist IS group promptly released a statement on social media claiming responsibility for the attack and posting a picture of the purported bomber.
“Our knight immersed into their crowds, until he detonated his belt, turning them into scattered parts,” the statement said, according to a translation by the SITE Intelligence Group.
Targeting civilians
The bomber was named as Saifullah al-Ansari. He looks like a teenager on the attached picture, which shows him wearing a black scarf on his head and raising his right index.
IS claimed in its statement that the blast had killed more than 60 and wounded more than 100.
Haidar Kadhem, 20, survived the explosion.
“I was maybe 50 metres from the spot. The blast was extremely loud,” he told AFP by phone.
“Most of the crowd were young people, I could see them strewn across the field, some dead, others wounded asking for help. It was just chaos,” he said.
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.
Pushing back IS in this region after the jihadists took over large parts of the country in 2014 was one of the priorities of the government and allied Shiite militias.
That was achieved in a few months and IS has been largely eradicated from the area but violence – of a sectarian nature and crime-driven – has remained frequent.
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 6 March.
The attack was the deadliest car bomb explosion in Iraq this year.
The jihadist group has been losing territory steadily in Iraq for almost a year.
In the most recent operations, Iraqi forces have been gaining ground in the western province of Anbar and have just begun their reconquest of the province of Nineveh.
In the cities the group retains control over, internal tension appears to be on the rise and the lack of supplies is taking its toll.
Observers have warned that, as their self-proclaimed “caliphate” shrinks towards extinction, IS fighters are likely to revert to their old guerrilla tactics and ramp up suicide attacks on civilian targets.
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The sooner these mad dogs are wiped out the better.
I fear that may have to be the case with IS in the Middle East, but only a more just western foreign policy will stop disaffected European young men from keeping up the attacks in Europe. It was the same with the IRA when they were bombing London – I was there and it was horrible (especially as some of the more dumb people, same as now with Muslims, blamed all Irish people) but until there was a political situation it could not end. However, despite dire end-of-the-world predictions, the IRA bombs in London DID end, and this conflict will pass too.
sorry… a political solution… immature young men tend to be a bit simplistic in their view of justice and injustice…
How this religious nonsense has persisted over years and years of discovery and evolution is mind boggling. The only explanation I can find is it came from the cave and the believe in something above when we knew nothing. That and the relentless bombing by the West of the East is the only conclusion I can find. Fuse undeniable truth with absolute hopelessness and anger, that’s fanaticism. Can we change it? No that’s impossible. That’s the sad part. More will have to die to rid the world of these people
They’re in Malaysia too. They have quite the worldwide franchise going on:
“Malaysian authorities say they have foiled a plot involving at least 15 people, including a police officer and an airplane technician, who were allegedly attempting to obtain bombmaking materials and launch terrorist attacks in the Southeast Asian country.
Citing a statement from police on Thursday night, the Associated Press reports that 15 people suspected to be members of the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS) were arrested over three days beginning on Tuesday, the day of multiple bomb attacks in Brussels that have been claimed by the group.
Malaysia’s national police chief, Khalid Abu Bakar, said in the statement that the suspects — ages between 22 and 49 — include a mosque cleric, a student, the police officer and technician, and four women believed to be planning to travel to Syria to join ISIS.
A Malaysian man fighting with the group in Syria had ordered those arrested this week to carry out attacks on Malaysian soil, AP said.
Muslim-majority Malaysia is on high alert after attackers killed two civilians in the center of neighboring Indonesia’s capital in January. Malaysia has detained more than 160 people allegedly linked to ISIS in the past two years.”
http://time.com/4271704/malaysia-arrested-15-isis-members-terror/
I’d agree to a certain extent LDN, but this is a very different type of conflict. Do these lads have a political strategy, are they prepared to negotiate a resolution around a table? I sadly doubt it.
Oh throw in the word ‘liberty’ while you’re at it. The Provos (the most prolific child killers in this state after the industrial schools and laundries) never had a mandate and did horrible things, but just look at all the idiots lapping up the rhetoric over Easter. Forget Warrington, forget Omagh, forget Vincent and Alan Ryan and their sick torturing to retain their protection racket – just say ‘Eire’ and ‘Freedom’ and the fools will lap it up and cry for the blood of more kids on our streets.
1916 has nothing to do with the troubles. The troubles came from the signing of the treaty for the Irish Republic. Do yourself a favour and research the signitries of the proclamation
Bush and Blair’s invasion was supposed to deal with these issues, instead they created the ” mad dogs” as you so elequently refer to the Sunny insurgency now spreading throughout the Middle East. This is s multi generational conflict that is going to play out over the next hundred years.
I thoroughly concur with you that this is conflict is not coming to an end anytime soon. Bush and Blair are war criminals also.
Do yourself a favour and consider nationalism in general. I am fully versed in the history of 1916, civil war, partition, Catholic civil rights movement etc. And I am resolute that killing people about it was utterly inexcusable. The same claptrap from Pearse and Adams, idiots who care about the owner of a half rood of rock
And did Bush and Blair create the Fulani jihadis of west Africa in the 18th century?
“Hitherto Islam had been spread in western Africa essentially by merchants who, in order to secure their livelihood, chose to accommodate themselves and their religion within the pagan social and political framework that existed where they settled—which for the most part was only in the towns. But with the coming of the tariqa—of which the Qādiriyyah was one of the first and, until the Tijāniyyah began to advance in its tracks in the 19th century, certainly the foremost—western Africa began to experience the growth of organized groups of devout Muslims who were both specifically trained and morally compelled to work toward a true Islamic society. Moreover, if the people and their rulers remained irresponsive or hostile, it was the Muslims’ duty to preach the doctrine of conversion by force, through the jihad, divinely justified war or rebellion against rulers who were pagans or not true Muslims.
This doctrine was particularly attractive to the Fulani… The earliest known Fulani jihad occurred in Bondu, close to the Islamized Sénégal valley, where in the second half of the 17th century Fulani clerics succeeded in taking over political power from local Mande rulers. Early in the following century, considerable numbers of Fulani began to do the same in alliance with the local Muslim Mande traders in the nearby Fouta Djallon. By about 1750 a Muslim theocracy had been erected…”
http://www.britannica.com/place/western-Africa/The-Islamic-revolution-in-the-western-Sudan#toc54850
It’s amazing the lengths and mental gymnastics some people go to to deflect from the root cause of the current malaise we find ourselves in. It wasn’t Bush & Blairs fault,it was because of something that happened in the 18th century. We get it,you hate Muslims whether they are involved in violence or not,you have no sympathy for the 30 people murdered today,yet will crocodile tear when the same thing happens in Europe,such blatant hypocrisy.
Yes it’s all because of those Fulanis damn them. They started all this. We need a Fulani de-radicalization programme. /sarc.
Martin Byrne, violence is all the Brutish empire ever understood.
Martin those who faught in 1916 have nothing to do with the modern day IRA. They believed in being seen as second class citizens in an empire that had a history of raping such people. Check how much tax ireland were forced to pay every year to the brittish government at the time. They didn’t cowardly bomb and run away. The stood and faught for a better future for us. They are a big part of our pride in being irish. If you are can’t separate them from the IRA then I feel sorry for you and also you are actually feeding their propaganda
Well put Martin but the bigots will never listen
What absolute total savages…more people dead! When will this sick crap end.
@Martin. Do yourself a favour and consider Loyalism in general, UVF, UDA/UFF and British Army, all terrorists albeit one is under the pseudo of a state body it’s still used a tool instill terror in people for control and agenda. No justification in any murders from any side during the troubles, IRA included, but don’t forget that loyalism/bigotry is extremely guilty of genocide in this country for many generations. 1916 was a reaction by both Protestants and Catholics against that loyalist oppression.
Graham not unlike 1798.
Graham, I think Martin was a fan of the Empire…
Still defending Islamo fascism Dick? Root cause you say… Tell that to the families of the 60+ victims of ISLAMIC terrorism in the last few days across Europe and Africa that we know of. You’re some Clonskeagh lackie.
I fear it won’t pass, the IRA are a drop in the ocean compared to the power and ferocity of IS, a lot has changed since the 1960s with instant communication available to operate anywhere in the world to accessibility of materials also IS have the most powerful weapon.. Humans willing to die for their cause, not cowardly pipe bomb makers who make phone call warnings sitting in a pub. With North Korea waiting to pop and Israel, i think it will have to be something major to stop the terror levels.
Not enough to be slaughtering innocents of other cultures, but it’s muslims slaughtering innocents of their own culture. The mind boggles. These cracked fu(kers are a cancer on humanity. The sooner they’re exterminated, the better off the world will be.
IS members in the Middle East do have to be stopped alright, and in addition the west has to pursue a just foreign policy, peace and reconciliation in its own dealings in the region to stop European young men from going to swell their ranks and then returning to Europe to carry out atrocities. It’s either that or the Maggie Thatcher approach, which did not work at the time of the IRA bombings – same impressionable misguided and disaffected young men – and they are all young men as I trust people have noticed.
Little…again..no they are NOT all young men…you can keep posting it but that wont make it true.
The ones that go from Europe are though, aren’t they? I am not saying there is any justification whatsoever for the atrocities, but what other realistic plans do people have for stopping those young men from doing this? I am talking logic here. We know that deplorable western atrocities in the Middle East against Muslims are perceived as an injustice by these young men who likely feel disaffected and are maladjusted in their own lives to start with… they likely think the same as the young men who joined the IRA in their droves back in the days and were involved in similar activities.
The point is that every violent movement (and I count regular armies in this too) knows that they can exploit the mixture of idealism, need for group belonging, and lack of pre-frontal cortex development of young men to despicable ends.
It’s all so depressingly familiar when we look back through history. Perhaps it is men, and particularly young men, that we have this problem with… solutions please?
FFS.. I think it’s time we had parallel to Godwins law.. One that references the famine and the troubles, as it gets brought up that much now as a whataboutery to Islamic terror.
Well, in Malaysia the most recently arrested group were not mostly young men:
“ages between 22 and 49 — include a mosque cleric, a student, the police officer and technician, and four women”
And lots of women have travelled from Europe to join IS. In France I believe more women than men have travelled.
Young men have historically been one of the most volatile groups within any society – for good and bad – and most sane societies have channeled that into something other than destructiveness. Most of those young men haven’t expressed their volatility by joining genocidal groups though.
LDN…logic and islam in the same paragraph..is that a dichotomy?
This is becoming like some ridiculous Monty Python sketch . . because these idiots won’t be happy until they’ve killed everyone on the fecking planet . . including themselves. . . Then they might be a somewhat content.
How awful. I doubt, sadly, we will be seeing books of condolences in local council offices for this one or Je suis Iraq Facebook profiles.
I hope so much for a just solution in the Middle East so these misguided young men (and we note they are all young men) will stop doing this – like the IRA bombs in London, only a political solution will end this carnage – if there is one IS will be a small isolated group in that region and misguided western youth will not be going to join them and swell their numbers.
Or we could take the Maggie Thatcher approach, which I fear is what will happen.
“all young men”….apart from all the young women and girls …little.
I take your point Peter that there may be one or two girls, but are they not mostly young men? I find the fact of the nature of the young adult brain making them prone to lack of foresight, inability to consider the consequences of their actions, a need for risk-taking and belonging to a group a tragic fact – something that is exploited by the cynical older adults who draw them into these movements or armies where they will go to kill and be killed. Tragic.
We can of course choose not to consider logically what may escalate or help this situation, and just continue on with it.
What do you think a just political solution in the Middle East would involve? And would IS and the other jihadist groups there be involved in that solution?
The IRA had an agenda, a reasonable end goal that made it possible to end it through talks and agreements but these mad f**ks do not have a reasonable end goal
There will be somebody to take their place when they are gone. New name, Same people, Same Western foreign policies.
#Je suis done with Islamic terrorism
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