A terror attack on the Imam Mohammed Shrine in Balad, north of Baghdad, has killed 40 people and wounded 74, AFP reported Iraqi health ministry spokesman Ahmed al-Rudaini as saying.
The shrine was attacked with mortar fire, then by suicide bombers wearing security force uniforms, said Joint Operations Command spokesman Yahya Rasul.
Security forces fired on the bombers, who were not able to enter the shrine, and two of them blew themselves up, while a third was shot dead, he said.
The attack sparked a fire that caused heavy damage to the market near the shrine.
The "Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant" (ISIL) issued a statement claiming the attack.
