Celebratory

Celebratory gunfire kills three after Iraq football win

Three people were killed and 25 wounded by stray bullets on Saturday as Iraqis marked the victory of their football team over Vietnam with a barrage of celebratory gunfire.
Iraq made their way to the Asian Cup semi-final with a 2-0 victory over Vietnam in Bangkok, in a match televised live for millions of Iraqi fans.
As the war-torn country's team emerged victorious, a massive eruption of gunfire reverberated across Baghdad and several other towns as hundreds of rounds were fired skywards into the evening sky.Interior and defence ministry officials told AFP that at least three people were killed and 25 wounded from falling bullets.
The progress of Iraq's team in the Asian Games is a rare source of shared joy in a country wracked by political divisions, murderous sectarian violence and a brutal insurgency.
Such victories are traditionally followed by gunfire as security forces, militia fighters, insurgent guerrillas and the country's heavily-armed citizenry put aside their differences and fire into the air. Dre mhs & m/2007