A string of attacks across Iraq killed 15 people Sunday, including nine in a bombing at a football pitch, the latest in a spate of blasts targeting Iraqis playing and watching the sport. The deaths are part of a surge in violence that comes as Iraq grapples with months of protests by the Sunni Arab community and protracted political deadlock. Analysts warn there may be no respite before general elections next year. Attacks on Sunday struck in Mosul, Dawr, Sharqat and Hilla, but the deadliest violence hit the capital. At 7:00 pm in the Nahrawan neighbourhood of southeast Baghdad, a bomb went off as a group of youths were playing football at a popular pitch. The blast killed nine and wounded 25 others, an interior ministry official and a medical source said. Most of the victims were boys under the age of 16, the sources said.
