Suicide bombers killed at least 31 people and wounded 35 in two separate attacks in Iraq, one at the main bus station in the Shi'ite holy city of Karbala and on in a crowded market in the town of Musayyib, on Friday, security sources said.

Daesh claimed both of the attacks, identifying both bombers as men.

However, a security officer said the bomber in Musayab was a woman who hid the bomb under the customary full-body veil.

The attack comes as Daesh is about to lose Mosul, the de-facto capital of the terrorist group in Iraq, to a U.S.-backed Iraqi offensive launched in October.

The group is also on the backfoot in neighboring Syria, retreating in the face of a U.S.-backed Kurdish-led coalition attacking its capital there, Raqqa.

Iranian-backed paramilitaries are taking part in the campaign fighting Daesh in Iraq, attacking the group in the border region near Syria.

Daesh declared a self-styled "caliphate" over parts of Syria and Iraq three years ago.