Toll from IS suicide bombing in Iraq stadium climbs to 41

Iraqi officials say the death toll from a suicide bombing at a soccer stadium that was claimed by the Islamic State group has climbed to 41, with another 105 people wounded.

The security and public health officials provided the updated toll on Friday on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief reporters.

The bombing took place on Friday during a match in the small stadium in the city of Iskanderiyah, 30 miles (50 kilometers) from the capital, Baghdad. IS claimed the attack, saying it had targeted Shiite militiamen.

The extremist group has lost ground in recent months in Iraq and Syria, but has struck back with a series of large attacks targeting civilians. IS claimed this week's attacks in Brussels, which killed 31 people. (AP)

A group of suicide bombers from the Islamic State group killed three Iraqi soldiers on Saturday in an attack on a military base hosting hundreds of coalition advisers, officers said.

“Four suicide bombers this morning infiltrated the military base of Al-Asad on its northern edge,” said Major General Ali Ibrahim Daboun, head of the Al-Jazeera Operations Command.

“The bombers were of various nationalities, they were killed by Iraqi security forces,” he told AFP, without specifying any casualties among army ranks.

Al-Asad air base, located about 180 kilometres (110 miles) northwest of Baghdad in Anbar province, is one of the largest military installations in the country.

It is home to Iraqi federal forces and tribal fighters currently engaged in operations to retake the nearby town of Hit from IS, as well as to a large contingent of foreign military advisers.

Colonel Steve Warren, the spokesman for the US-led coalition fighting IS in Iraq and Syria, said no foreigners were involved in the incident.

Another Iraqi security source said the number of bombers was higher than four and said one of them managed to detonate his suicide vest, killing three Iraqi soldiers and wounding four.