The objective of the push early on Monday is to take control of the K1 airbase, west of Kirkuk, Lieutenant Colonel Salah el-Kinani, of the Iraqi army's 9th armoured division, told Reuters news agency.
Iraqi forces rolled into parts of the countryside outside Kirkuk city and took control of "vast areas" without facing resistance from Kurdish Peshmerga fighters, Iraq's state TV said.
Yet, a Kurdish security official denied that the Iraqi troops were able to get closer to the city or take territory from the Peshmerga, telling Reuters that the oil fields and the airbase were still under Kurdish control.
'Multi-pronged assault'
"They attacked Peshmerga Forces from two fronts in the Taza-Kirkuk intersection and Maryam Bag bridge, both south of Kirkuk, using US military equipment, including Abrams tanks and Humvees," the Kurdistan Region Security Council (KRSC) said in a statement.
"Significant forces have also been deployed to Maktab Khalid intersection in southwest Kirkuk as part of the operation," the statement added.
The Kurdish forces said they destroyed at least five US Humvees used by Iraqi army.
"Peshmerga will continue to defend Kurdistan, its people and interests. This was an unprovoked attack following days of Iraqi military deployments to Kurdistan's borders," the KRSC statement said.
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