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| Iraq bombs strike football fans | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Two bomb attacks have killed at least 27 people in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, as crowds celebrated a famous victory by the national football team. | |
| The first hit the city's Mansour district, where fans were marking a win against South Korea in the Asian Cup semi-finals, killing at least 11. | |
| The second explosion killed 16 people at an army checkpoint in east Baghdad. | |
| Thousands had gathered on the streets of Baghdad, dancing and chanting in a rare moment of national unity. | Thousands had gathered on the streets of Baghdad, dancing and chanting in a rare moment of national unity. |
| "I was in a car with my friends, people all around were celebrating and then there was a huge explosion and a lot of fire," one eyewitness of the first bomb attack in Mansour, who asked not to be named, told the Agence France-Presse news agency. | |
| Police said that at least 60 people had been injured in the attack, when the car exploded in the excited crowd. | |
| Death and joy | |
| A suspected suicide car bomber then blew himself up about 45 minutes later in the midst of dozens of cars filled with supporters, near an Iraqi army checkpoint in the eastern district of Ghadeer. | |
| Policemen and soldiers join in the celebration | |
| At least 16 people were killed, including two soldiers, and nearly 60 were injured, local officials said. | |
| Separately, at least one person was reported to have died after being hit by stray bullets fired in celebration of the football victory, an Arab tradition popular in a city awash with guns. | |
| Celebrations marking the national team's football victory also took place in other major cities in Iraq. | Celebrations marking the national team's football victory also took place in other major cities in Iraq. |
| "I am nearly crying for joy," 30-year-old fan Nuri al-Najjar told Reuters in the southern city of Basra. | "I am nearly crying for joy," 30-year-old fan Nuri al-Najjar told Reuters in the southern city of Basra. |
| "Iraq's victory with this harmonious team represents the way we should all live together." | "Iraq's victory with this harmonious team represents the way we should all live together." |