The Latest: Iraqi Kurds say 'lots of casualties' near Kirkuk


              This image made from a video shows Iraqi soldiers in the Qatash area towards Kirkuk gas plant, south of Kirkuk, Iraq, Monday, Oct. 16, 2017.  Iraqi state media say federal troops have entered disputed territories occupied by the nation's Kurds. The move comes three years after Kurdish militias seized the areas outside their autonomous region to defend against an advance by the Islamic State extremist group. (APTN via AP)
This image made from a video shows Iraqi soldiers in the Qatash area towards Kirkuk gas plant, south of Kirkuk, Iraq, Monday, Oct. 16, 2017. Iraqi state media say federal troops have entered disputed territories occupied by the nation's Kurds. The move comes three years after Kurdish militias seized the areas outside their autonomous region to defend against an advance by the Islamic State extremist group. (APTN via AP)

IRBIL, Iraq (AP) - The Latest on Iraq, where federal forces have attacked the Kurdish-held city of Kirkuk (all times local):

9:15 a.m.

An Iraqi Kurdish commander says federal forces have seized an oil and gas company and other industrial areas south of Kirkuk in fighting with Kurdish forces that caused "lots of casualties."

Brig. Gen. Bahzad Ahmed, a spokesman for Kurdish forces, said Monday the Iraqi troops have "burnt lots of houses and killed many people" in Toz Khormato and Daquq, south of the disputed city. He said Kurdish forces, known as peshmerga, have "destroyed one or two of their tanks."

His claims could not be independently verified.

Kurdish officials say federal forces launched an assault south of Kirkuk late Sunday, aiming to capture a military base and surrounding oil wells.

The multi-ethnic city has been at the heart of a long-running dispute between the Kurds and the federal government that escalated following last month's non-binding Kurdish vote for independence.

The U.S. has armed and trained Iraqi and Kurdish forces, both of which are at war with the Islamic State group.

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8:30 a.m.

Iraqi Kurdish officials say federal forces and state-backed militias have launched a "major, multi-pronged" attack aimed at retaking the disputed northern city of Kirkuk.

The Kurdistan Region Security Council says in a statement Monday that Kurdish forces known as peshmerga have destroyed at least five U.S.-supplied Humvees being used by the state-sanctioned militias following the "unprovoked attack" south of the city.

Tensions have soared since the Kurds held a non-binding referendum last month in which they voted for independence from Iraq. The central government, along with neighboring Turkey and Iran, rejected the vote.

The United States has supplied and trained Iraqi federal forces and the peshmerga, both of which are fighting the Islamic State group. The U.S. also opposed the referendum.

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