IS attacks kill 30 in Iraq

Jihadist gunmen and bombers killed at least 12 people in a busy market area of Baghdad while a double blast at a cafe north of the Iraqi capital claimed another 20 lives.

An attack claimed by the Islamic State group and involving suicide explosions, gunfights and hostage-taking wreaked chaos in the eastern neighbourhood of Baghdad al-Jadida.

"A car came... gunmen came out of it and spread out. They started shooting, killing people, there were lots of dead people," said a witness, Salman Hussein.

The head of Baghdad Operations Command, Lieutenant General Abdelamir al-Shammari, insisted to reporters on the scene that the situation was quickly brought under control.

He denied reports by several officials in the Baghdad police and in the interior ministry that the attackers held several people hostage in the nearby Zahrat Baghdad mall.

But a senior police officer gave a different account, saying the attackers sprayed gunfire and blew up a car bomb on the street before entering the mall and taking hostages.

Almost simultaneously, bombings killed at least 20 people at a cafe in the town of Muqdadiyah northeast of Baghdad, security officers said.

A bomb exploded at the cafe and a suicide bomber detonated an explosives-rigged vehicle after people gathered at the scene, a police captain and an army colonel said. IS also claimed the Muqdadiyah attack .

At least three people were killed and eight wounded in another car bomb blast in Nahrawan, south of Baghdad. Yesterday's combined attacks made for one of the worst days of violence in months in areas that are not active front lines.