Pope calls on Iraqi people to reject hatred

Pope Francis on Sunday sent a message of condolences to the Iraqi people, in which he called on them to "reject the ways of hatred and conflict".

His statement followed the recent suicide-bombing attack by the Islamic State terror group in a football stadium, where 41 people were killed and around 100 were wounded, Efe news agency reported.

The pontiff expressed his feelings of grief and sorrow for the lives that were lost in the attack that targeted a popular stadium last Friday in the south of Baghdad and called on those responsible for the country's future to work for the "common good" and to "guarantee the spiritual and material welfare of all people".