KIRKUK, Iraq (Reuters) - At least five people were killed and 18 injured in a series of explosions in the Iraqi oil city of Kirkuk, medical sources in the city’s general hospital told Reuters on Thursday.

At least six improvised explosive devices went off in the northern city and two more were defused by security forces, the Iraqi military said in a statement. It gave a lower death toll of three and said 16 were injured. </s> KIRKUK, Iraq (Reuters) - At least five people were killed and 18 injured in a series of explosions in the Iraqi oil city of Kirkuk, medical sources in the city’s general hospital told Reuters on Thursday.

At least six improvised explosive devices went off in the northern city and two more were defused by security forces, the Iraqi military said in a statement. It gave a lower death toll of three and said 16 were injured.

The explosion sites included two malls, an ice cream shop and a butcher’s shop, local media reported.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility but Islamic State militants are active in the area. Iraq declared victory over the group, which once held large swathes of the country, in December 2017.

But Islamic State has switched to hit-and-run attacks aimed at undermining the Baghdad government.

Its fighters have regrouped in the Hamrin mountain range in the northeast, which extends from Diyala province, on the border with Iran, crossing northern Salahuddin province and southern Kirkuk. </s> Islamic State launched a major attack on the city of Kirkuk on Friday as Iraqi and Kurdish forces pursued operations to seize territory around Mosul in preparation for an offensive on the jihadists’ last major stronghold in Iraq.

Islamic State’s assault on Kirkuk, which lies in an oil- producing region, killed 18 members of the security forces and workers at a power station outside the city, including two Iranians, a hospital source said.

Crude oil production facilities were not targeted and the power supply continued uninterrupted in the city. Kirkuk is located east of Hawija, a pocket still under control of Islamic State that lies between Baghdad and Mosul.

With air and ground support from the U.S.-led coalition, Iraqi government forces captured eight villages south and southeast of Mosul. Kurdish forces attacking from the north and east also captured several villages, according to statements from their respective military commands overnight.

The offensive that started on Monday to capture Mosul is expected to become the biggest battle fought in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.

U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said on Friday Turkey and Iraq had reached an agreement in principle that could allow a Turkish role in the Mosul campaign.

Speaking in Ankara after talks with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, Carter said the details still needed to be hammered out. NATO member Turkey sees Mosul as firmly within its sphere of influence, but Iraq views Turkish military moves on its territory with apprehension.

The United Nations says Mosul could require the biggest humanitarian relief operation in the world, with worst-case scenario forecasts of up to a million people being uprooted.

About 1.5 million residents are still believed to be inside Mosul. Islamic State has taken 550 families from villages around Mosul and is holding them close to IS locations in the city, probably as human shields, a spokeswoman for the U.N. human rights office said in Geneva.

The fighting has forced 5,640 people to flee their homes so far from the vicinity of the city, the International Organization for Migration said late on Thursday.

The Turkish Red Crescent said it was sending aid trucks to northern Iraq with food and humanitarian supplies for 10,000 people displaced by fighting around Mosul.

A U.S. service member died on Thursday from wounds sustained in an improvised explosive device blast near the city.

Roughly 5,000 U.S. forces are in Iraq. More than 100 of them are embedded with Iraqi and Kurdish Peshmerga forces, advising commanders and helping them ensure coalition air power hits the right targets, officials say.

However, the Kurdish military command complained that air support wasn’t enough on Thursday.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi, addressing anti-Islamic State coalition allies meeting in Paris via video link, said the offensive was advancing more quickly than planned.

A senior Kurdish military official told Reuters the offensive by the Iraqi and Kurdish forces was moving steadily as they push into villages on the outskirts of Mosul.

But he expected the offensive to slow as they approach the city, where Islamic State has built trenches and dug tunnels.

“I believe it will be more clear within the coming weeks ... how quickly this war will end. If they (Islamic State) decide to defend the actual city then the process will slow down.”

Once inside Mosul, Iraqi special forces would have to move painstakingly from street to street to clear explosives and booby traps, the official said.

Islamic State denied that government forces had advanced. Under the headline “The crusade on Nineveh gets a lousy start,” the group’s weekly online magazine Al-Nabaa said it repelled assaults on all fronts, killing dozens in ambushes and suicide attacks and destroying dozens of vehicles including tanks.

In online statements, Islamic State said it launched a series of counter-attacks and four suicide bombings to take back villages that fell on Thursday to the army and the Kurds and that it had blocked all their fresh offensives.

In Kirkuk, Islamic State attacked several police buildings and a power station in the early hours of Friday and some of the attackers remained holed up in a mosque and an abandoned hotel.

The militants also cut the road between the city and the power station 30 km (20 miles) to the north.

Several dozen took part in the assault, according to security sources who couldn’t confirm a claim by Islamic State that it had taken a Kurdish police officer hostage.

The assailants in Kirkuk came from outside the city, said the head of Iraq’s Special Forces, Lieutenant General Talib Shaghati, speaking on a frontline east of Mosul.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi described the killing of the Iranian citizens in Kirkuk as “the last breath of terrorists in Iraq”.

At least eight militants were killed, either by blowing themselves up or in clashes with the security forces, the security sources said. Kurdish forces had dislodged the militants from all the police and public buildings they had seized before dawn, they said.

Kurdish NRT TV footage showed machine gun fire hitting a drab two-floor building that used to be a hotel, and cars burning in a nearby street.

Islamic State claimed the attacks in online statements, and authorities declared a curfew in the city where Kurdish forces were getting reinforcements.

Kurdish Peshmerga fighters took control of Kirkuk in 2014, after the Iraqi army withdrew from the region, fleeing an Islamic State advance through northern and western Iraq.

On the frontline south of Mosul, thick black smoke lingered from oil wells that Islamic State torched to evade air surveillance, in the region of Qayyara.

The army and the U.S.-led coalition took back this region in August and are using its air base as a hub to support the offensive on Mosul.

“Long live Iraq, death to Daesh,” was painted on a wall near an army checkpoint there. Daesh is an Arabic acronym for Islamic State.

The army Humvees at the checkpoint carried Shi’ite flags, revealing that the soldiers of this unit belonged to Iraq’s majority religious community.

Flying Shi’ite flags in the predominantly Sunni Muslim region and the participation of the Popular Mobilization Force - a coalition of mostly Iranian-trained militias - in a support role to the army has raised concerns of sectarian violence and revenge killings during or after the battle.

“All those who are participating in the battle have to respect the humanitarian principles and refrain from seeking vengeance,” said a sermon delivered in Sistani’s name in the holy Shi’ite city of Kerbala by one of his representatives. </s> (Hatha al-Youm | Iraq News )- TEHRAN (FNA)- Several people have been killed and more than a dozen others wounded in a series of blasts that struck the city of Kirkuk, the Iraqi military announced.At least six improvised explosive devices went off on Thursday in the Northern city and two more were defused by security forces, the military said in a statement, Al-Jazeera reported.It gave a death toll of three people, while 16 others were wounded.Unidentified security officials told The Associated Press news agency that the blasts killed at least four people and wounded 23, while medical sources in Kirkuk's general hospital told Reuters news agency that at least five people were killed and 18 wounded.There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but Saad Harbya, the head of Kirkuk security operations, blamed the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS) armed group.The explosions reportedly struck in the centre of Kirkuk, in a commercial area that has several shopping centres, cafes and restaurants, sending people fleeing in panic.The blasts went off in quick succession after iftar, the meal that breaks daylong fasting during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, when streets are typically crowded with shoppers and people out having dinner.Police blocked off all roads leading to the blast sites and were allowing only ambulances to transfer the wounded to nearby hospitals.Iraq declared victory over the Islamic State, which once held large swaths of the country, in December 2017.But militants have switched to hit-and-run attacks aimed at undermining the central government in Iraq's capital, Baghdad.Its fighters have regrouped in the Hamrin mountain range in the Northeast, which extends from Diyala province, on the border with Iran, crossing Northern Salahuddin province and Southern Kirkuk. </s> (Hatha al-Youm | Iraq News )- ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – An explosion rocked a Shia Muslim mosque in Baghdad on Friday, resulting in at least 20 casualties and conflicting reports on the nature of the device used in the attack.The blast occurred inside the Imam Mahdi mosque in the predominantly Shia neighborhood of al-Baladiyat in the eastern suburbs of Baghdad, a security source told Kurdistan 24. Worshippers had just finished their Friday prayers and were about to leave the site when the bomb detonated.Bombings that target religious buildings, once common in the bloody sectarian conflict in the years that followed the 2003 toppling of Saddam Hussein's regime, are now rare in Iraq.The exact number of deaths was not immediately clear, but a witness told Kurdistan 24 that the explosion was "violent," and that at least 20 people were lying on the ground, covered with blood.Local media Alsumaria reported that the attack was carried out by a “suicide bomber” that had killed at least seven people and injured 20 others in the attack. According to other outlets, however, the bomber had used an improvised explosive device (IED).No group has yet claimed responsibility.In previous decades, the building was known as the Mosque of Abdul Rahman al-Kubaisi. After the fall of the former government in 2003, Shia groups took it over and turned it into an establishment exclusive to their sect of Islam, renaming it the Imam Mahdi al-Muntadhar Mosque.On Thursday, at least four people were wounded when a suicide bomber tried to detonate his vest at a cafeteria in Khanaqin, about 175 kilometers (108 miles) north of Baghdad.“The attacker, a young man, attempted to blow himself up at the cafeteria, but he failed,” a source told Kurdistan 24.Editing by John J. Catherine </s> The Latest on the developments in Iraq where Iraqi forces and their allies launched a major offensive this week to retake Mosul, the country's second-largest city from the Islamic State group (all times local):

Iran's Foreign Ministry has condemned an Islamic State assault in Iraq's northern province of Kirkuk and says four Iranians were killed in that attack.

The official IRNA news agency quoted ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi as saying that another three Iranians were wounded in the assault.

IS launched a wave of coordinated attacks in an around the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk early on Friday that appeared to be aimed at diverting security forces from a massive offensive underway around the IS-held city of Mosul.

The police chief in a town north of Kirkuk says IS militants attacked a power plant there, killing 11 workers, including two Iranians, before blowing themselves up. It was not immediately clear if Iranians were targeted in other attacks.

A convoy of 20 trucks has left the Turkish capital with humanitarian assistance to northern Iraq. The aid comes as Iraqi and Kurdish troops are pressing ahead with an operation to recapture the Iraqi city of Mosul from the Islamic State group.

Kerem Kinik, the president of the Turkish Red Crescent, said during a send-off ceremony in Ankara on Friday that the trucks will deliver some 500 tons of aid to people fleeing the fighting in the regions of Mosul and Tal Afar. The Red Crescent says the trucks are carrying food, clothing, bedding and tents.

Kinik said his organization was also making contingency plans to help Iraqi officials deal with larger population movements, including enlarging the capacity of a camp for displaced persons.

He says that that as the Mosul battle continues, there is a "risk of a large migration wave."

Iraqi police say three Islamic State militants have stormed a power plant north of the city of Kirkuk, killing 11 workers, including two Iranians, before blowing themselves up.

Maj. Ahmed Kader Ali says the suicide bombers entered the facility early on Friday, took 10 workers hostage, and asked to be taken to the Iranians who worked there. One of the workers took them to the Iranians before escaping. The militants then killed the Iranians and the other workers, and detonated their explosive vests when police arrived.

The attack took place in the town of Dibis, to the north of Kirkuk city, where another militant assault was underway.

Kirkuk is some 170 kilometers (100 miles) from the Islamic State-held city of Mosul, where Iraqi forces have been waging a wide-scale offensive since Monday.

An Iraqi Kurdish TV channel says all the Islamic State militants who took part in an assault in the northern city of Kirkuk have been killed except for two who are holed up in a damaged building.

Rudaw TV says all the fighters who stormed a police compound early on Friday have been killed. It says the two remaining militants are battling Kurdish forces in a newly built hotel that was damaged in the fighting.

There was no immediate word on casualties among civilians or Kurdish forces.

The militants launched a pre-dawn assault on the city, which is around 170 kilometers (100 miles) from the IS-held city of Mosul, where Iraqi forces have launched a wide-scale offensive.

The Islamic State group says its fighters have stormed a government compound in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk.

The claim was carried by the IS-run Aamaq news agency early on Friday, and could not immediately be verified.

Witnesses in Kirkuk say militants attacked two police compounds early Friday and reported hearing heavy gunfire and explosions.

Live footage from the Kurdish Rudaw TV shows smoke rising from the city. The station quoted however Kirkuk Governor Najmadin Karim as saying that militants have not seized any government buildings.

Kirkuk is around 170 kilometers (100 miles) from the IS-held city of Mosul. Iraq launched a massive operation to retake Mosul, the country's second largest city, earlier this week.

The witnesses spoke on condition of anonymity because of security concerns.

Witnesses in the Iraqi city of Kirkuk say armed militants have attacked a local police compound and that fighting is underway.

They say multiple explosions have rocked the city so far in Friday's assault and that gunfire could be heard ringing through the city.

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. The witnesses spoke on condition of anonymity as they are concerned for their safety.

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. </s> Iraqi city of Kirkuk rocked by 6 blasts; at least 4 killed

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraqi security officials say a series of explosions in the northern city of Kirkuk has killed at least four people and wounded 23.

The officials said the six blasts went off in quick succession Thursday night after iftar, the meal that breaks daylong fasting during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. They struck center of the city when streets are typically crowded.

The nature of the blasts was not immediately clear, but the officials said they appeared to be improvised explosive devices. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.

Iraq declared victory against the Islamic State group in 2017, but the group continues to carry out attacks through sleeper cells, particularly in the country's north. </s> Iraqi city of Kirkuk rocked by 6 blasts; at least 4 killed

BAGHDAD (AP) — A series of explosions shook the center of the northern city of Kirkuk Thursday, killing at least four people and wounding 23, Iraqi security officials said.

The six blasts went off in quick succession after iftar, the meal that breaks daylong fasting during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, when streets are typically crowded with shoppers and people out having dinner. They struck in the center of the city in a commercial area that has several malls, cafes and restaurants, sending people fleeing in panic.

The nature of the blasts was not immediately clear, but the officials said they appeared to be improvised explosive devices. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.

Iraq declared victory against the Islamic State group in 2017, but the group continues to carry out attacks through sleeper cells, particularly in the country's north.

There was no immediate responsibility claim, but the head of Kirkuk security operations Saad Harbya, speaking on the Kurdish Rudaw TV, blamed IS. The group has claimed several attacks recently around the city, some of them targeting security forces.

Kirkuk is an oil city disputed by Irbil-based Kurdish regional government and Baghdad. </s> A series of explosions have shaken the centre of the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk, killing at least four people and wounding 23, security officials say.

The six blasts went off in quick succession after iftar, the meal that breaks daylong fasting during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, when streets are typically crowded with shoppers and diners.

They struck in the centre of the city in a commercial area that has several malls, cafes and restaurants, sending people fleeing in panic.

The nature of the blasts was not immediately clear, but the officials said they appeared to be improvised explosive devices.

Iraq declared victory against the Islamic State group in 2017 but the group continues to carry out attacks through sleeper cells, particularly in the north.

There was no immediate responsibility claim, but the head of Kirkuk security operations Saad Harbya, speaking on the Kurdish Rudaw TV, blamed IS. The group has claimed several attacks recently around the city.

Kirkuk is an oil city disputed by the Kurdish regional government and Baghdad.
Six explosive devices detonated in several locations in Kirkuk, Iraq kill 5 people and injure 20 others.