Bombers kill Iraqi football fans in Baghdad
Wednesday, 25 Jul 2007 20:00
Supporters had been celebrating their team's famous victory
At least 50 people have been killed in Baghdad after bombers struck football fans celebrating their team's victory in the Asian Cup semi-finals.
Police sources said that two separate bomb attacks in the Middle Eastern country's capital had wounded more than 100 other football supporters and bystanders.
The attacks came hours after Iraq's national football team secured a shock win against South Korea in the semi-finals of the Asian Cup in Jakarta, Malaysia.
As thousands of fans gathered on the streets to celebrate the famous victory the bombers detonated their explosives; with 30 people killed in Mansour, western Baghdad, and 20 killed moments later at an army checkpoint in the capital's east..
Police sources have indicated that the suicide bombers were deliberately targeting football fans.
Separately, one person is thought to have been killed and at least 17 wounded in celebratory gunfire, following the death of five people in similar circumstances after Iraq beat Vietnam in the Asian Cup's quarter-finals on Sunday.
After today's 4-3 penalty shoot-out win which followed a goalless extra-time draw with South Korea, Iraq will meet Saudi Arabia in the tournament's final in the Indonesian capital Jakarta on Sunday.