IS claims responsibility as Iraq bombings kill at least 24 people

A wave of bombings claimed by the Islamic State (IS) group targeting commercial areas in and around Baghdad on Monday have killed at least 24 people.

The attacks came as Iraqi troops looked set to recapture Fallujah, a city held by IS west of Iraq's capital.

The Iraqi military, backed by paramilitary troops and aerial support from the US-led coalition, launched the operation to dislodge the militants from Fallujah about a week ago but have still to start the final push into the city centre.

The deadliest of Monday's attacks took place in the northern, Shiite-dominated Shaab neighbourhood of Baghdad where a suicide bomber rammed his explosives-laden car into a checkpoint next to a commercial area, killing eight civilians and three soldiers.

The explosion also wounded up to 14 people, a police officer said.

A suicide car bomber struck at an outdoor market in the town of Tarmiyah, about 31 miles north of Baghdad, killing seven civilians and three policemen, another police officer said, adding that 24 people were injured in the incident.

In Baghdad's eastern Shiite Sadr City district, a bomb motorcycle went off at a market, killing three and wounding 10, police said.

In an online statement, IS claimed responsibility for the attacks, saying they targeted members of the Shiite militias and a government office.

Fallujah is one of the last major IS strongholds in western Iraq. The extremist group still controls territory in the country's north and west as well as Mosul, Iraq's second largest city.

On Sunday, Iraqi Major Dhia Thamir said troops had recaptured 80% of the territory around Fallujah since the operation began and are currently battling IS to the north-east as they seek to tighten the siege ahead of a planned final push into the city centre.

In a televised speech on Sunday to parliament, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi called on Fallujah residents to either leave the city or stay indoors.

Government officials and aid groups estimate that more than 50,000 people remain inside the centre of the Sunni majority city.