A suicide bomber blew himself up in a crowd after a local football game in the village of al-Asriya, near

Iskandariya Al-Iskandariya or Alexandria ( ar, الإسكندرية, also given as Iskandariyah, Iskanderiyah, Iskanderiya, Iskanderiyeh or Sikandariyeh or Al Askandariyah) is an ancient city in central Iraq, one of a number of towns in the Near East found ...

in the

Babil Governorate Babil Governorate or Babylon Province ( ar, محافظة بابل ''Muḥāfaẓa Bābil'') is a governorate in central Iraq. It has an area of , with an estimated population of 2,065,042 people in 2018. The provincial capital is the city of Hill ...

, in a mixed Sunni-

Shiite Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, most ...

area on 25 March 2016. The bombing killed at least 41 people and wounded more than 105. The Mayor Ahmed Shaker was among those killed in the explosion; he succumbed to his wounds in a hospital. The

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant An Islamic state is a state that has a form of government based on Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a translation of the Arabic term ...

claimed responsibility for attack, claiming those targeted were members of the

Popular Mobilization Forces The Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) ( ar, الحشد الشعبي ''al-Ḥashd ash-Shaʿbī''), also known as the People's Mobilization Committee (PMC) and the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), is an Iraqi state-sponsored umbrella organization ...

. The bombing occurred as trophies were being presented after a football tournament. According to eyewitnesses, the bomber went through the crowd to approach the centre and blew himself up during the mayor's presentation of the awards. Many of the victims were young boys; according to an Iraqi official, at least 17 boys between the ages of 10 and 16 were killed.

Reactions

* Three days of mourning were declared in the Babil Governorate following the attack. * : Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, who was visiting Iraq at the time, condemned the attack. * FIFA:

Gianni Infantino Giovanni Vincenzo Infantino (; born 23 March 1970) is a Swiss football administrator with Italian citizenship and the current president of FIFA. He was elected President of FIFA during the 2016 FIFA Extraordinary Congress in February 2016. H ...

, President of FIFA, said "it is a very sad day, when people, going to a match together, become the victims of such violence." *

Asian Football Confederation The Asian Football Confederation is the governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal in some countries/territories in Asia and Oceania. It has 47 member countries most of which are located in Asia. Australia, formerly i ...

: AFC condemned the bombing by issuing a statement that said "Using football and sport stadiums as a stage for these heinous acts of violence is a cowardly, completely unjust and indiscriminate act."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Iskandariya suicide bombing 2016 murders in Iraq Suicide bombings in 2016 21st-century mass murder in Iraq ISIL terrorist incidents in Iraq Mass murder in 2016 Mass murder in Iraq Terrorist incidents in Iraq in 2016 Islamic terrorist incidents in 2016 March 2016 crimes in Asia March 2016 events in Iraq Attacks in Iraq in 2016