Terrorists have gunned down at least 12 Real Madrid fans while they were watching the Champions League final in a fresh attack on club supporters in Iraq.
Four gunmen started firing indiscriminately at their victims after bursting into a Real Madrid supporters’ club based in Baquba around 40 miles north of the capital Baghdad.
The group’s president Ziad Albidani told Spanish sports daily AS the attack happened towards the end of the match before the penalty shoot-out decided by Cristiano Ronaldo.
The number of dead has been put at 12 with eight injured. The extent of their injuries are not known.
The terrorists, believed to be ISIS members, fled and have yet to be captured.
All the victims, said to be aged between 18 and 30, are thought to be Iraqi nationals.
Yesterday night’s/Saturday night’s incident comes just over two weeks after a group of Islamic State terrorists armed with AK-47s attacked the headquarters of a Real Madrid Supporters Club in Balad near Baquba.
Three gunmen killed at least 16 people after opening fire at the Al Furat cafe on May 13.
Most of the victims were Real Madrid fans but cafe staff and other customers were also killed with 20 people injured.
Islamic State later claimed responsibility as gruesome pictures and video emerged of the bloodbath.
Real Madrid president Florentino Perez dedicated the club’s Champions League 1-0 victory over Atletico de Madrid to the fans killed in that massacre before news of the latest attack emerged.
He told a Spanish television channel: “I would like to dedicate this cup to our fans in Iraq.”
In a statement in the aftermath of the attack earlier this month, Real Madrid said: “The club expresses its total sadness and offers its thoughts and condolences to the families and friends of the victims.
“Real Madrid extends its solidarity to the people of Iraq, that suffers the injustice of extremist violence."
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