Mick Hartley

Just when you think they can’t go any lower:

A suicide bomber struck soccer fans celebrating Iraq’s victory in the Asian Cup on Wednesday, killing at least 11 people and wounding 31, police said.

The victims were among the thousands who took to the streets of the capital after the country’s national soccer team beat South Korea to reach the tournament’s final.

The man detonated his explosives belt in the middle of a crowd of people cheering the victory near a well-known ice cream shop in Baghdad’s western neighborhood of Mansour, police said. […]

The successful run in the Asian Cup has been a cause of much joy in this wartorn country, with Iraqis saying the mixed makeup of the team showed the country’s rival ethnic and religious factions can unite despite years of sectarian violence.