A peshmerga force was ambushed at Zerga Zaour, 55 kilometres (30 miles) northwest of Kirkuk and "two peshmerga fighters were martyred", provincial authorities stated, blaming IS "terrorists".

Saturday's attack came four days after another, likewise blamed on IS, which left 15 dead in a predominantly Shia village in Diyala province in eastern Iraq.

In 2017, Iraq declared victory over the Islamic extremists having recovered the territory the group had controlled for three years. But the group remains active and in July claimed an attack that killed about 30 people at a market in a Shia part of Baghdad's Sadr City.