At least 21 people were killed and 25 others wounded in a suicide attack inside a Shiite mosque in western Baghdad, a police official said Sunday.

The source told EFE that the victims were inside the Abbas al-Adly mosque, located in the Al Harithiya neighbourhood, when a suicide bomber detonated his explosive-laden jacket.

The mosque was badly damaged by the attack.

The incident comes two days after 26 people lost their lives when three car bombs blew up in Shiite neighbourhoods in the capital.

Last Tuesday, another car bomb was detonated at a checkpoint in a Shiite neighbourhood, killing at least 21 people and wounding 65.

The attacks come as Iraqi government forces supported by the US-led international coalition are battling Sunni jihadis of the Islamic State, who control a vast parts of the country and have declared a caliphate in the region.