At least 30 people were killed and 65 injured in a Suicide bomb attack at a football stadium at Iskandariyah in near South Baghdad last night.
A police captain told media that a suicide bomber blew himself when trophies were being presented after a local tournament.
The mayor of the town, Ahmed Shaker, was among the dead. The terror outfit Islamic State promptly released a statement on social media claiming responsibility for the attack and posted a picture of the purported bomber.
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 has been one of the priorities of the government and allied Shiite militias.