Indonesian football fan beaten to death by rival supporters

BANDUNG, Indonesia, Sept 24 (AFP): More than a dozen people have been arrested after supporters of a rival team clubbed an Indonesian football fan to death with iron bars and planks, police said Monday.

The deadly incident happened Sunday before a match between host club Persib Bandung and Persija Jakarta, bitter rivals in Indonesia's top professional league.

Haringga Sirla, a 23-year-old Persija Jakarta fan, died after a group of Bandung supporters beat him outside the main stadium in the city of Bandung, 150 kilometres (93 miles) southeast of Jakarta.

Some 16 people had since been arrested in connection with the attack, police added.

It was the seventh death of a fan linked to a match between the two clubs since 2012, according to football analyst Akmal Marhali.