BAGHDAD – A suicide bomber blew himself up in a soccer stadium south of the Iraqi capital on Friday, killing 29 people and wounding 60, security officials said.
The bombing took place during a match in the small stadium in the city of Iskanderiyah, 30 miles (50 kilometers) from Baghdad, the officials said. Medical officials confirmed the death toll. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the press.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but the Islamic State group has been waging a campaign of suicide bombings in and around the capital as Iraqi forces and their allies battle the militants in the north and west of the country.
The bombing came as Iraqi military spokesman Yahya Rusoul announced that Iraqi troops and Sunni tribal fighters recaptured the western town of Kubeisa from the Islamic State group. The assault was part of operations aimed at rolling back the militants in Iraq’s Sunni-majority Anbar province after government forces retook the provincial capital of Ramadi in February.