Suicide bombers have killed at least 30 people at a Baghdad sports stadium hosting a pre-election campaign rally attended by thousands of supporters of a militant Shia group.
An al-Qaida breakaway group, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isis), claimed responsibility for the attack at the Industrial Stadium in eastern Baghdad where 10,000 backers of the Iranian-backed Asaib Ahl al-Haq group had gathered.
Isis 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. Whether Isis was actually behind the attack could not be independently verified.
Police and medical officials gave a toll of at least 33 killed and 40 wounded. They said the first two blasts were caused by planted bombs but the third was the work of a suicide bomber.
Sectarian violence has plagued Iraq more than two years after US troops ended an eight-year presence following the 2003 invasion. 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 UN says 8,868 people were killed in 2013 and more than 1,400 in the first two months of 2014.
The rally had been organised 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. Parts of the Sunni-dominated Anbar province will not participate in the election due the clashes there between security forces and militants.
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