QARA TAPPA, Iraq, June 14 (UPI) -- At least 29 people were injured in northern Iraq Saturday when a female suicide bomber detonated explosives in a marketplace, authorities said.
Col. Ragheb al-Omairi, spokesman for Diyala military operations command, said the explosion occurred in Qara Tappa in Diyala province where Iraqis were celebrating after watching the Iraqi national soccer team defeat the Chinese team 2-1 in China, CNN reported. The wounded included 25 civilians -- at least 12 in critical condition -- and four police officers were wounded, the U.S. network reported.
The soccer game was part of the Asian qualifier for the 2010 South Africa World Cup.
Gunfire was reported in Baghdad, where the military requested that people not fire weapons in celebration.
Twenty females have carried out suicide bombings in Iraq this year, compared to eight bombings by females in 2007, the U.S. military said.
"We do see certain members of cells attempting to persuade women, specifically in many cases wives of those who have been killed as terrorists, to conduct suicide operations," U.S. Maj. Gen. Mark Hertling said recently.
