Militants armed with assault rifles and explosives attacked a police compound in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk early on Friday in an assault that was quickly claimed by the Islamic State group and likely aimed at diverting the authorities’ attention for the battle to retake the IS-held Mosul.
Multiple explosions rocked the city and gun battles were underway, said witnesses in Kirkuk, speaking on condition of anonymity as they were concerned for their safety.
IS said its fighters were behind the attack, which the extremist group said targeted the Iraqi government. The claim was carried by the IS-run Aamaq news agency and could not immediately be verified.
Local Kurdish television channel Rudaw aired footage showing black smoke rising over the city as extended bursts of automatic gunfire rang out. The TV, however, quoted Kirkuk Gov. Najmadin Karim as saying that the militants have not seized any government buildings.
There were no immediate reports of casualties.
The attack comes as the Iraqi government and Kurdish forces are making a major push to drive Islamic State militants from Iraq’s second-largest city of Mosul.
Kirkuk is an oil-rich city some 290 kilometers (180 miles) north of Baghdad that is claimed by both Iraq’s central government and the country’s Kurdish region. It has long been a flashpoint for tension and has been the scene of multiple attacks by Islamic State militants.
Iraqi and Kurdish forces backed by U.S.-led coalition support launched a multi-pronged assault this week to retake Mosul and surrounding areas from IS. The operation is the largest undertaken by the Iraqi military since the 2003 U.S-led invasion.
Iraqi officials said they had advanced as far as the town of Bartella, nine miles (15 kilometers) from Mosul’s outskirts, by Thursday.
