IS suicide bomber kills six in Baghdad

A suicide bomber killed six people in western Baghdad on Sunday, in an attack claimed by the Islamic State group.

The bombing in the shopping area of Iskan neighbourhood also wounded 18 people, according to a statement from Iraqi security spokesman Saad Maan.

The militants' Amaq news agency claimed the attack, saying it was carried out by an Iraqi national wearing an explosive vest who had successfully passed security measures.

The Baghdad attack came a day after militants killed 12 people in gun and bomb attacks in the northern city of Tikrit.

Iraqi forces are preparing for a push on Mosul, the last IS stronghold in the country, after regaining much of the Iraqi territory the group seized in June 2014.

But even as it loses ground, IS retains the ability to carry out deadly attacks in government-held areas.

In July, 324 people were killed in a truck bombing in the Karrada shopping district of Baghdad, the deadliest single attack in Iraq since the US-led invasion in 2003.