It’s a sad day for football and Real Madrid in particular as a supporters club in the country of Iraq was attacked by terrorists. The incident has left people shocked and it is something that happened out of the blue.
The gathering of the supporters happened in a small town called Samarra, which is 125 kilometers from the City of Baghdad. There were 14 people who were found dead and 20 others injured, some suffering serious ones.
The club consisted of 50 supporters during the time of the attack. The members meet regularly for coffee and watch old Real Madrid games apart from the regular screenings during live matches.
Spanish outlet AS spoke with the president of the club to learn more about the situation. The president Ziad Subhan said, “A group of Islamic terrorists, from ISIS, came into the café, armed with AK-47s, shooting at random at everyone who was inside.”
The intention of the terrorists was very disturbing to hear as the president continued to explain saying, “They don't like football, they think it's anti-Muslim. They just carry out attacks like this. This is a terrible tragedy.”
ISIS have become a strong and dangerous force in recent years. As of December 2015, the Islamic group have gained control over a vast area of Iraq and Syria over a population estimated to be between 2.8 million and 8 million.
The UN along with several world governments have condemned the group's ideologies. The CIA have estimated the terrorist group to have around 31,000 fighters in the two countries with most of them being Iraqi and Syrian nationals.
Leaders around the world have condemned their actions and other Islamic leaders have said the group do not represent what their religion stands for. Madrid will hope families of the victims will get the appropriate relief they require.
Real will play their last game of the season on Saturday against Deportivo La Coruna. They are currently a point behind Barcelona and will have to hope their rivals lose to Granada and they defeat Deportivo to claim the title.
Zidane has done a wonderful job since he took over from Rafa Benitez. The club were way behind Barcelona, but thanks to a poor run of results from the Catalans Madrid were able to close the gap on them.
The now have the possibility of doing the double this season after they Manchester City to reach the finals of the UEFA Champions league.
