Video: Suicide bomber kills eight near Baghdad Shia mosque

A suicide bombing claimed by the Islamic State group killed at least eight people near a Shia mosque in eastern Baghdad on Wednesday, security and medical officials said.

The blast in the Obeidi area also wounded at least 19 people, the officials said.

IS claimed the attack in a statement posted online, saying a bomber identified as "Abu Salem" carried it out with an explosives-rigged belt.

IS considers the Shia community to be heretics, and frequently targets them with bombings in crowded areas of the capital.

IS overran large areas north and west of Baghdad last year, and while Iraqi forces and their allies have retaken significant territory north of the capital, much of the country's west remains under jihadist control.

Bombings in Baghdad have become less frequent since the IS offensive last year, seemingly because its fighters have been occupied with fighting elsewhere.

Last month a roadside bomb followed by a suicide bombing close to a Shia mosque south of Baghdad killed at least seven people and wounded 18 others.

A week earlier, a suicide bomber blew himself up at a Baghdad mosque packed with mourners during the funeral of a Shia militia fighter, killing at least 17 people.