ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Erbil SC condemned on Saturday a “frightening and inhumane attack” by Al-Shorta fans on its supporters and buses carrying them after a match in Baghdad.

The incident took place after a match, which ended in a draw on Friday as part of the Iraq Stars League.

“After the match ended, hundreds of Al-Shorta club fans attacked us, chased us with cars and motorcycles, and assaulted Erbil club fans with sticks, stones and cinder blocks,” Jarjis Sadiq, head of the Erbil SC fans' committee, told The New Region.

According to The New Region correspondent Yasir Muhammad, who was in Baghdad to cover the match, “the windows of all the buses carrying Erbil fans were smashed,” adding that a number of Erbil fans remain stranded in Baghdad.

The administrative board of Erbil SC, in a statement early Saturday, expressed “profound regret and strong condemnation” early Saturday over the attack in which “a group of Al-Shorta club fans carried out a frightening and inhumane attack on our club's fans and their transport buses.”

The board called on relevant authorities and the Iraqi Football Association to open “a serious and responsible” investigation into the incident and take necessary legal measures against those who participated in the attack.

Al-Shorta SC has not yet commented on the matter.

The match was part of the Iraq Stars League, the country’s highest level of professional football competition. The league features 20 clubs, with each team playing 38 matches, facing every team twice. The winning team is crowned Iraqi champion.