[size=7]Iraq suicide attack: 30 killed at football match south of Baghdad[/size]


The Islamic State (IS) militant group claimed responsibility for the attack that wreaked carnage on the field where supporters, officials and security forces were gathered after the game.

"They were just handing the trophy to the winners, the suicide attacker blew himself up in the crowd," a police captain from the village, Al-Asriya, told news agency AFP.

The village is near Iskandariyah, a town about 40 kilometres south of Baghdad.

The police captain said more than 65 people were also wounded in the blast.

A medic at Iskandariyah hospital confirmed the toll and warned it could rise further.

Pictures posted on social media of the site of the blast showed mangled goal posts smeared with blood.

"The suicide bomber cut through the crowd to approach the centre of the gathering and blew himself up as the mayor was presenting awards to the players," 18-year-old witness Ali Nashmi said.

The mayor, Ahmed Shaker, was among the dead.

"The mayor died in hospital as a result of the serious wounds he suffered in the blast," the medic said, adding that one of his bodyguards and at least five members of the security forces were also among those killed.

The jihadist IS group promptly released a statement on social media claiming responsibility for the attack and posting a picture of the purported bomber, who has been named as Saifullah al-Ansari.

Haidar Kadhem, 20, survived the explosion.

"I was maybe 50 metres from the spot. The blast was extremely loud," he said.

"Most of the crowd were young people, I could see them strewn across the field, some dead, others wounded asking for help. It was just chaos."