Iraqi players killed for wearing shorts

ibnlive.com is on mobile now. Read news, watch videos
be a Citizen Journalist. Log on to m.ibnlive.com NOW!

Related Stories

Top Headlines

Top Videos

Most Popular

• Budget to focus on social sectors, growth 

• Education reform will be for all Indians: Sibal 

• Federer wins record-breaking 15th Grand Slam title | Photogallery 

• Bandra-Worli Sea link starts toll tax 

• One-upmanship: Sonia, Pawar in foodgrain politics 

• 5 feared dead in Madhya Pradesh factory explosions 

• Policemen guard Maya's statue wealth across UP 

• Youth shot dead by cops had 26 injury marks | Watch 

• CPI-M leaders to act to curb Kerala infighting 

• Paes-Black lose Wimbledon mixed doubles final 

• Pranab has promises to keep in Budget of hope 

• Youth shot dead by cops had 26 injury marks 

• Kargil victory was certain: ex-army chief 

• Bollywood stars sizzle at the IIFA fiesta 

• IBNFocus: TDS process simplified 

• No minister contacted Madras HC judge: CJI 

• Scrap EVMs, let's go back to ballot, says Advani 

• CNN-IBN debate: Homosexuality vs Indian morality 

• Watch: Parties react to HC judgement on gays 

• Railways fail to provide basic facilities to passengers 

• Federer wins record-breaking 15th Grand Slam title 

• Umpire dies after being hit on head by ball 

• Education reform will be for all Indians: Sibal 

• Budget preview: Promises to keep 

• Who said what about record champion Federer 

• Chronology of Federer's record 15 Grand Slam titles 

• 5 feared dead in Madhya Pradesh factory explosions 

• One-upmanship: Sonia, Pawar in foodgrain politics 

• Policemen guard Maya's statue wealth across UP 

• Paes-Black lose Wimbledon mixed doubles final 

Photogallery

Find us on Facebook | Join IBNLive community

Stay ahead with G-Talk Buddy | Click now!

Baghdad: An Iraqi tennis coach and two of his players were killed this week in Baghdad because they were wearing shorts, authorities said on Saturday.

Gunmen stopped the car in which the Sunni coach and two of his Shiite players were riding and asked them to step out before shooting them on Wednesday in volatile Saidiyah neighborhood of southwestern Baghdad, said Secreatary General of Iraqi Tennis Union, Manham Kubba.

Extremists distributed leaflets warning people in mostly Sunni neighborhoods of Saidiyah and Ghazaliyah not to wear shorts, police said.

"Wearing shorts by youth is prohibited because it violates the principals of Islamic religion when showing forbidden parts of the body. Also women should wear the veil," the leaflets said.

Nobody claimed responsibility for the attack, but it came amidst the fear of a rise in Islamic extremism in the war-torn country.

Sunni cleric Eid al-Zoubayi denounced the attack on the athletes. "Islamic religion is an easy religion and it allows wearing sport shorts as long as they don't show the forbidden parts of the body, so the acts that are targeting the sport are criminal," he said.

The killing of the tennis players was the second attack against athletes in just over a week.

A taekwondo team was kidnapped in western Iraq while driving to a training camp in neighboring Jordan on May 17.

The 15 athletes were snatched on a road between the Sunni cities of Fallujah and Ramadi.

More than 30 people were killed in attacks nationwide on Saturday, including four who died when a bomb in a parked car exploded near a busy bus station in southern Baghdad.

Seven people also were wounded in the blast, which left passers-by bloodied and damaged a local restaurant.