BAGHDAD: Suicide bombers killed 33 people Friday at a sports stadium hosting a campaign rally for thousands of supporters of a militant Shia group before parliamentary elections, authorities said — an attack that could unleash more sectarian violence.
An al-Qaida breakaway group, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, claimed responsibility for the attack at the Industrial Stadium in eastern Baghdad, which drew about 10,000 backers of the Iranian-backed Asaib Ahl al-Haq group.
It said on a militant website that the bombings were to avenge what it called the killing of Sunnis and their forced removal from their homes by Shia militias.
The authenticity of the claim could not be independently verified. The attack was a stark reminder of the sectarian violence that has plagued Iraq more than two years after U.S. troops ended an eight-year presence that often served as a buffer between the nation´s Shia majority and its Sunni Arab minority.
Last year, the death toll in the country climbed to its highest levels since the worst of the sectarian bloodshed between 2006 and 2008. The U.N. says 8,868 people were killed in 2013, and more than 1,400 people were killed in the first two months of this year alone.
The rally was organized to introduce the group´s candidates for Wednesday´s vote. More than 9,000 candidates are taking part and will vie for 328 seats in parliament
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