ISIS claims responsibility for deadly attack on Baghdad mall that left 18 dead

Gunmen stormed a shopping mall in eastern Baghdad killing at least 18 people and took an estimated 75 more hostage, after blowing up a car bomb.

After detonating the bomb then opening fire on crowds, the gunmen holed up in the shopping centre in the Baghdad al-Jadida district, amid fears they were wearing suicide belts.

However, Iraqi commandos landed on the roof, where they clashed with attackers inside, killing two and arresting another four.

ISIS has now claimed responsibility for the attack, which would mark a step up in coordination for an attack in Baghdad, which ISIS has previously only subjected to crude suicide bombings.

A police official said the attackers entered the mall and when security forces got too close, they killed three hostages.

He described the mall as a building of four or five floors in a busy commercial area of Baghdad, in a populous Shiite-majority area on the eastern edge of the Iraqi capital.

A large plume of black smoke could be seen billowing into the sky above the area where the mall was located.

Police said a counter-terrorism force from the intelligence services was dispatched and snipers posted on buildings around the mall.

An interior ministry source said the gunmen opened fire in the street after a car bomb exploded at the entrance to the mall and briefly clashed with members of the security forces before entering.