A suicide bombing claimed by the ISIL group killed at least 15 people in a Shiite area of northern Baghdad on Sunday, security and medical officials said.

A suicide bombing claimed by the ISIL group killed at least 15 people in a Shiite area of northern Baghdad on Sunday, security and medical officials said.

The bombing, which struck near a checkpoint in the Kadhimiyah area, home to a major Shiite shrine, also wounded at least 29 people, the officials said.

ISIL issued a statement claiming the attack, saying it targeted soldiers and pro-government paramilitaries in the area.

The 'jihadist' group frequently carries out attacks on security forces, and also often targets members of Iraq's Shiite Muslim majority, whom it considers heretics.

An ISIL suicide bomber struck shoppers in Baghdad's central Karrada district earlier this month, killing 292 people.

The group also claimed an attack on a Shiite shrine in Balad, north of the capital, that left 40 dead a few days later.

ISIL overran large areas north and west of Baghdad in 2014, but Iraqi forces have since regained significant ground and are conducting operations to set the stage for the battle to recapture Mosul, the last ISIL-held city in the country.

The 'jihadists' have responded to the battlefield setbacks by striking civilians, and experts have warned there may be more such attacks as the 'jihadists' continue to lose ground.