Gunmen storm government building in Iraq-Kurdish capital Erbil

Two gunmen on Monday stormed the governor's headquarters in Erbil, the capital of Iraqi-Kurdistan, opening fire and wounding a policeman, deputy governor Taher Abdullah said.

Kurdish security forces known as Asayish set up a "security cordon and are searching the building" for the assailants, Abdullah said.

The attack took place in the early morning before employees had arrived for work, witnesses said, adding that the gunmen were probably holed up on the third floor of the building.

It was not immediately clear what sparked the attack in the usually secure Kurdish regional capital.

The Islamic State group claimed a deadly attack on the interior ministry in Erbil in 2015.

The previous year the group was blamed for a suicide bombing that killed at least four people outside the Erbil Provincial Council Building.

Iraq declared victory over IS in December but the militants still hold pockets of territory and continue to carry out deadly attacks.

Last week, the Kurdish-Arab city of Kirkuk was targeting by suspected IS bombers.

Kurdish Peshmerga fighters took part in the battle against IS after it launched a 2014 offensive in Iraq, seizing nearly a third of the country.