At least 17 people have been killed in an attack on a shopping center in Baghdad, during which people were taken hostage.

About 20 gunmen stormed the al-Jawhara shopping center in the mainly Shia al-Jadeda area on January 11, after a car bomb exploded outside.

Security forces sealed off the area and then stormed the building, killing the assailants and freeing their hostages, an interior ministry spokesman said.

It is not clear who the gunmen were.

However, Sunni jihadist militants from ISIS have frequently target Shia districts of Baghdad.

According to police, two of the assailants detonated explosive belts they had been wearing, killing several hostages.

Two other gunmen were shot dead, and another four arrested, police say.