Stampede near football stadium in Iraq's Basra kills one, injures dozens

Iraq is hosting Arabian Gulf Cup for first time in 40 years and was due to play final match against Oman on Thursday

By
Reuters
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A stampede near a football stadium in the city of Basra in southern Iraq killed one person and injured dozens on Thursday.— Twitter/Gulf Daily News
A stampede near a football stadium in the city of Basra in southern Iraq killed one person and injured dozens on Thursday.— Twitter/Gulf Daily News

A stampede near a football stadium in the city of Basra in southern Iraq killed one person and injured dozens on Thursday, when thousands of fans were trying to enter the stadium, the state news agency reported.

Iraq is hosting the Arabian Gulf Cup for the first time in 40 years and was due to play the final match against Oman on Thursday.

The Arab Gulf Cup Football Federation is considering postponing the final match or moving it to another country if the security situation does not improve, Basra governor Asaad Abdel Amir told Reuters. The stampede, which also injured 83 people, took place near the gates of the Sports City that was supposed to host the final match, security and medical sources said. 


This story is being updated with more details.