Suicide bomb and gun attacks on Iraqi restaurants and a police checkpoint kill at least 60 people

Isis claims slayings in what officials have labelled a show of force after loss of territory

Iraqi army soldiers are seen in Al Karma, north of Basra, in this file photo (REUTERS)

At least 60 people have died in gun and bomb attacks in southern Iraq.

Two restaurant and a police checkpoint were hit with more than 100 people also wounded in the attacks claimed by isis.

One attacker detonated his explosive vest inside the restaurant, south-west of Nassiriya in the Thi Qar province, while three to four other attackers opened fire at the people inside, police sources said.

Security officials described the attacks as an attempt to send a message to Isis followers that the group is still strong and can operate in other parts of Iraq following the loss of the Iraqi city of Mosul.

"After losing the war in Iraq and the shrinking of its power, Daesh returned back to its old style of an insurgency, by carrying out suicide attacks, which is a clear sign that the terrorist group is retreating," police intelligence colonel Murtatha al-Yassiri told Reuters.

Sources at city hospitals said around 10 Iranian citizens were among those killed.

Bomb attacks in southern Iraq, where the bulk of the country’s oil is produced, are relatively rare - with Isis activity tending to be concentrated in Iraq's northern and western provinces.

Isis - which is also under siege around its Syrian stronghold of Raqqa - claimed the attacks through its propaganda agency Amaq.

Yahya al-Nassiri, the area’s governor, said the attack began with militants opening fire at the checkpoint and the restaurants on the main highway that links Baghdad with the southern provinces.

That was followed by two suicide bombers, including one driving an explosives-laden car, he said. The attackers were believed to be wearing security force uniforms and driving stolen army vehicles,

Mr Nassiri said the majority of the dead were expected to be Iranian pilgrims who were inside the restaurant. Three police officers are among the dead. Police sources said some police officers had died in the checkpoint attack, but the toll from that incident remained unclear.

The head of Nassiriya's health directorate, Jassim al-Khalidi, said the city's hospital had received 50 bodies and the death toll could rise because some of the wounded were in critical condition.

The deadliest attack was at a restaurant west of Nassiriya. “One attacker blew up his suicide vest inside the crowded restaurant while a group of other gunmen started to throw grenades and fire at diners,” said police colonel Ali Abdul Hussain.

Security sources said forces were placed on alert in most of the southern provinces, including the oil city of Basra, in case of similar attacks.

Shia Muslim-dominated Thi Qar is located about 200 miles south-east of Baghdad.