26 people killed in suicide bombing at soccer match in Iraq

A suicide attacker has detonated an explosive belt in a park outside Baghdad on Friday, killing 26 people.

The security head in Babel province where the bomb – claimed by Islamic State – went off, also said 71 were wounded.

The blast in Iskandariya, a mixed Sunni and Shi’ite Muslim town 40km (25 miles) south of the capital, happened around 7.15pm (local time) at the end of an amateur soccer game, said Falah al-Khafaji.

Islamic State militants, who control swathes of territory in Iraq’s north and west, were behind the attack, according to Amaq news agency, which is affiliated with the group.

At least 60 people were killed earlier this month in an attack claimed by Islamic State 80km further south, in Hilla, when an explosives-laden fuel tanker slammed into an Iraqi security checkpoint.

An apparent escalation of large bombings targeting areas outside Islamic State’s primary control suggests that Iraqi government forces may be stretched thin after recent gains against the group in the western and northern provinces.