Female Suicide Bomber Strikes Celebrating Iraqi Soccer Fans

Iraq's soccer team wins an important match, but the celebrations quickly turned into mourning.

Last month Iraq was almost disqualified from the World Cup due to governmental interference. FIFA, the sport's world governing body, had suspended Iraq in late May from all international competitions after the government dissolved the country's Olympic committee and with it the national soccer federation. (See diary for background.) The government claimed the committee had not met for three years, but those things happen when your chairman has been missing since his kidnapping.

Iraq was scheduled to play Australia in Brisbane on June 1. When a tentative resolution was reached, the game went ahead with Australia winning 1-0. Iraq took the return match 1-0 the following week. Earlier today, Iraq defeated China 2-1 at Tianjin to keep its hope of advancing alive, with the entire country riveted to TV screens. You'll remember the celebrations last year when Iraq won the Asian Cup of Nations tournament.

Unfortunately, the celebrations quickly turned to mourning.

CNN:A female suicide bomber in northern Iraq targeted buoyant soccer fans who had just watched their national team win a big match against China, authorities told CNN.

At least 29 people were wounded when the bomber detonated her suicide vest in a marketplace in the Diyala province town of Qara Tappa, a predominantly Shiite Kurdish town with a Shiite Turkmen population.
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Twenty-five civilians and four police were wounded, with at least 12 of the civilians in critical condition.

The next time someone claims that things are getting better in Iraq, point out this:

Twenty females have carried out suicide bombings in Iraq this year, many more than in previous years. According to the U.S. military, women carried out eight bombings in all of 2007.

Authorities said that al Qaeda in Iraq is recruiting women and that more women are offering themselves up for missions.

The officials said the women are desperate and hopeless, most have pre-existing ties to the insurgency, and their main motive is revenge for a male family member killed by U.S. or Iraqi forces in the war.

So now every Iraqi killed by our forces potentially spawns another suicide bomber. Lovely.

Iraq's last match in the current stage will be against Qatar in Dubai (Iraq's home away from home) on June 22. The two teams are tied for second in the pool, with Iraq holding the tie-breaker advantage. An Iraqi win or draw would guarantee their advance to the next round. There's a good chance we'll see more suicide bombings if that happens.