A series of bombs has exploded at a campaign
rally for a Shia group in Iraq's capital ahead of
the country's parliamentary election, killing at
least 31 people and wounding 56, police said.
Friday's explosions struck as some 10,000
people gathered at the Industrial Stadium in
eastern Baghdad for a rally of the Asaib Ahl al-
Haq group. The Shia group had planned to
announce at the rally its candidates for Iraq's
parliamentary election on Wednesday.
Police and medical officials said several of the
wounded were in critical condition. They spoke
on condition of anonymity as they were not
authorised to release the information.
Followers of Asaib Ahl al-Haq carried out
deadly attacks against US troops before their
withdrawal from Iraq in 2011 and claimed
responsibility for the 2007 kidnapping of a
British contractor along with his four guards.
The group is backed by Iran and says it is
sending fighters to Syria.
Its leader, Sheik Qais al-Khazali, spent years in
US detention but was released after he was
handed over to the Iraqi government. At the
rally on Friday, he gave a brief address that
challenged the Sunni fighters holding two cities
in Anbar province.
Sectarian violence
Security guards jumped on Khazali and pushed
him away from the stadium after the blasts.
The blasts highlight the sectarian violence that
has plagued Iraq recently.
Last year, the death toll in the country climbed
to its highest levels since the worst of the
country's sectarian bloodletting between 2006
and 2008.
The UN said 8,868 people were killed in 2013,
and more than 1,400 people were killed in the
first two months of this year alone.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for
the attack, though an al-Qaeda spin-off group
known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the
Levant uses similar tactics.
The group and other Sunni fighters frequently
use car bombs and suicide attacks to target
public areas and government buildings in their
bid to undermine confidence in the Shiite-led
government and target Shia groups.
More than 9,000 candidates are taking part in
Wednesday's elections and will vie for 328
seats in parliament.
Parts of the Sunni-dominated Anbar province
won't take part in the election due the clashes
there between security forces and al-Qaeda-
inspired fighters.
