Iraq soccer final before sellout crowd

BAGHDAD (AP) — Tens of thousands of Baghdad soccer fans cheered on their club in the top league's final game, the largest sports crowd the city has seen since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.

The Baghdad club, al-Zawraa, lost 0-1 in overtime Sunday to a team from Irbil in northern Iraq. But the game was not marred by crowd violence or a terrorist attack, a sign that security forces are asserting more control in the capital.

In the past five years of war and sectarian killings, large gatherings would have been considered too dangerous — tempting targets for suicide bombers and other attackers.