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Militants attack police compound in northern Iraq's Kirkuk

Associated Press
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Iraq's elite counterterrorism forces advance near Mosul, Iraq, Thursday, Oct. 20, 2016. Iraqi special forces charged into the Mosul battle Thursday with a pre-dawn advance on a nearby town held by the Islamic State group, a key part of a multi-pronged assault on eastern approaches to the besieged city. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed) (The Associated Press)

Map locates Kirkuk, Iraq; 1c x 3 inches; 46.5 mm x 76 mm; (The Associated Press)

Iraq's elite counterterrorism forces raise an Iraqi flag after retaking Bartella, outside Mosul, Iraq, Friday, Oct. 21, 2016. Iraqi and Kurdish forces backed by a U.S.-led coalition 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, 15 kilometers (nine miles) from Mosul's outskirts, by Thursday. (AP Photo/ Khalid Mohammed) (The Associated Press)

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.