At least 37 people have been killed and 62 injured in an attack on a Shia mausoleum north of Baghdad.

The attack has been claimed by Islamic State, which has increasingly targeted civilians as it has been losing ground militarily in Iraq and Syria.

The attack began with rocket fire on Thursday night before a suicide bomber targeted police officers who were guarding the entrance to the Sayyid Mohammed shrine in Balad, about 58 miles from the Iraqi capital.

A second bomber went into the shrine with nine gunmen attacking security forces and families who had gathered to celebrate Eid al-Fitr, the holiday marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan.

Police say a third bomber was also killed before he could detonate his explosives belt.


The attack has also increased fears of growing tension between Iraq's Shias and Sunnis.

The Shias are a majority in Iraq but Sunnis are predominant in the northern and western provinces, including the area of Salahuddin, where the mausoleum is located.

Well-known Shia cleric Moqtada al Sadr has ordered his militia, the Peace Brigade, to deploy in the area in response to the attack.

They are already in nearby Samarra.

The latest attack came as Baghdad's security chief and a number of other officials were sacked over an IS attack in the capital, which left at least 292 people dead.

The initial blast caused a fire which, a sit spread, trapped people inside shopping centres without sufficient emergency exits, causing many of the casualties.

Interior Minister Mohammed Ghabban tendered his resignation following the bombing, and authorities also announced the execution of five convicts and the arrest of 40 jihadists in an apparent bid to limit the fallout from the attack.