(VOVworld) - Three near-simultaneous car bombs exploded in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk on Saturday, killing 21 people and wounding 118.

The explosion site (Photo: Reuters)

The bombings happened as Iraqi federal and Kurdish security forces battled a jihadist-led militant offensive that was launched in June and has overrun large areas of five provinces.

On the same day, a spokesperson for the Kurdish forces in Iraq said they were still in difficulty in dealing with Islamist militants despite their recent success of recapturing the strategic Mosul dam with the help of US air strikes.