Some 35 people have been killed in a suicide attack in Baghdad claimed by Islamic State, an official said, overshadowing a visit by French President Francois Hollande who offered to step up support for Iraq's campaign against the militants.
Meanwhile, in a fresh attack, suicide bombers and gunmen targeted Mutawakil police station in the Iraqi city of Samarra, north of Baghdad late Monday, Iraqi al-Sumaria television reported.
Al-Sumaria quoted colonel Imad al Zuheiri, head of operations in Samarra, as saying that the Iraqi forces have killed two of the attackers and that the situation is under control after reinforcements arrived in the area.
According to al-Sumaria, a curfew was imposed on the city while the attack was ongoing.
Unconfirmed reports said at least seven policemen were killed in the attack.
Samarra is home to important Iraqi security bases.
Amaq, a news agency which usually acts as the mouthpiece of the Islamic State, said jihadists from the group carried out the attack on the police station in Samarra.
Earlier in the day, a bomb attack hit a busy residential and commercial area in the city's mainly Shi'ite eastern suburb of Sadr city.
Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said the attackers lured casual workers waiting for employment onto their vehicle, promising them work, before blowing it up.
The official, from the Interior Ministry and speaking on condition of anonymity, said another 62 people were injured.
Islamic State, a Sunni extremist group, has carried out frequent bomb attacks on Shi'Ite areas in Baghdad, often targeting markets, restaurants and other crowded areas to maximise casualties.
Security forces in Baghdad also reported two explosions near a hospital, killing a number of people.
