According to local sources, the attack on a federal police checkpoint led to a clash between the policemen and the militants which lasted for nearly an hour.

The injured were rushed to Kirkuk hospitals for treatment.

ISIS lost control of its largest city, Mosul, to the Iraqi army in July 2017. In December 2017, Iraqi forces had driven the last remnants of the Islamic State underground, three years after the group captured about a third of Iraq's territory.

Since then, the group has used hit-and-run tactics against Iraqi Security Forces and American-led coalition forces especially in northern Iraq, but remains a potent threat in some parts of the country.