Islamic State bombings kill 35 in Iraq

Bombings claimed by Islamic State have left 35 people dead in Baghdad and the south Iraqi city of Basra.

Bombings claimed by IS have left 35 people dead in Baghdad and the south Iraqi city of Basra. (AAP)

Thirty-five people are dead and 33 injured after a string of suicide bombings claimed by Islamic State extremist militia in two Iraqi cities.

The overnight attacks Friday into Saturday, involving car bombings, targeted security checkpoints in the capital Baghdad and southern city of Basra.

Islamic State claimed responsibility in online statements.

In recent months, Islamic State has stepped up its attacks in different parts of Iraq in a bid to distract attention from an ongoing US-backed campaign to dislodge it from its last key stronghold of Mosul in Iraq.

On February 19, Iraqi forces started a major offensive to wrest back the western section of Mosul from Islamic State, almost a month after they recaptured the eastern part of the city.

Over the past weeks, government forces have retaken several neighbourhoods in western Mousl, squeezing the Islamic State militants into small-but-densely populated parts of the city.

Islamic State seized Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city, in a blitz in mid-2014.