BAGHDAD — The death toll from a suicide bombing at a soccer stadium that was claimed by the Islamic State has climbed to 41, with another 105 people wounded, officials said Saturday.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon offered his condolences to the families and friends of those killed in the attack, adding that the ‘‘the international community stands with Iraqis in horror and outrage.’’
Speaking during an official visit to Iraq Saturday, Ban said that the battle against the Islamic State — which claimed the attack — must comply with international law, noting continued reports of arbitrary arrests and killings in IS-liberated areas.
Friday’s bombing took place during a match in a small stadium in the city of Iskanderiyah, 30 miles from the capital, Baghdad. The bombing killed 41 people and wounded 105, security and health officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief reporters.
The president of the world football federation FIFA, Gianni Infantino, also offered his condolences to those killed. ‘‘Around the world, football unites people. It is a very sad day, when people, going to a match together, become the victims of such violence,’’ he said in a statement.
The Islamic State has lost ground in recent months in Iraq and Syria, but has struck back in a series of large attacks targeting civilians.
The Pentagon said Friday that it is moving to increase the number of American ground troops in Iraq amid new US airstrikes last week that killed the Islamic State’s finance minister and other senior leaders.
General Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told Pentagon reporters that recommendations on ways to increase US support for Iraq’s ground fight against Islamic State will be discussed with President Obama soon.
Dunford said both he and Defense Secretary Ashton Carter believe there will be an increase in US forces in Iraq in coming weeks, but that final decision has not been made. He did not say how big that increase might be.
He and Carter said accelerating the campaign against the Islamic State will include more assistance such as the artillery fire and targeting help that Marines provided earlier this week to Iraqi forces advancing on Mosul. But they said American forces remain well behind the front lines.
In a separate development, Turkey’s military said a Turkish soldier was killed in northern Iraq on Saturday by rockets fired by Islamic State militants. A second soldier was slightly wounded in the incident.
