A car bomb exploded near a market in the Shiite neighbourhood of Sadr City in Baghdad on Tuesday, killing at least 14 people, Iraqi police and medical sources said.

"The car was parked near a market, there are at least 14 killed," a police colonel told AFP. A medical source in the capital confirmed the death toll said at least 37 were also wounded.

Iraqi forces backed by US and French warplanes are battling fighters from the Islamic State jihadist group on several fronts across the country.

The militants stopped their advance several dozen kilometres (miles) from Baghdad but the city has continued to be plagued by daily violence, including car bombs mainly targeting Shiite areas.

Abductions and executions mostly targeting Sunnis are also frequent.