Gunmen opened fire on worshippers during Friday prayers at a Sunni mosque in the town of Imam Wais, northeast of Baghdad, killing at least 32 people, Iraqi officials said.

Gunmen opened fire on worshippers during Friday prayers at a Sunni mosque in the town of Imam Wais, northeast of Baghdad, killing at least 32 people, Iraqi officials said.

An army captain and a police officer said the attack was the work of four ISIL militants -- a suicide bomber who detonated explosives inside the mosque and three gunmen who fired on fleeing worshippers.

ISIL is a terrorist group which has been targeting the followers of all the sects and minorities in Iraq and Syria leaving tens of thousands killed, injured or displaced.

Supported by regional and Western powers, ISIL has controlled swathes of areas in eastern Syria and in northern Iraq.