"At 7:00 am, during a routine patrol in public roads, a police patrol noticed three individuals stealing from a store. When the patrol tried to stop them, the individuals opened fire on the police patrol, resulting in the martyrdom of one patrol member and the injury of another," read a statement from the Kirkuk police department.
"They were chased and arrested after one of them was injured ... an investigation is underway to uncover the circumstances of the accident،" it added.
The clash took place in Kirkuk’s Krekaran Square, the gunmen later fell into an ambush set by the security forces and one of them got killed in further clashes, according to Rudaw’s reporter on the ground.
The injured police officer was transferred to a Kirkuk hospital.
Kirkuk is a multiethnic city home to Kurds, Arabs, Turkmen, and Assyrians. The city was under joint administration before 2014 when Kurds took complete control after Iraqi forces withdrew in the face of a brazen offensive by the Islamic State (ISIS).
Kurds held Kirkuk until October 16, 2017, when Iraqi forces retook control and expelled Kurdish security forces following the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) independence referendum.
Hardi Mohammed contributed to this report
