One killed in bomb attack in Iraq's restive Kirkuk city

A bomb attack in Iraq's contested Kirkuk city has killed at least one person and wounded seven others on Wednesday evening.

A local security source told The New Arab's Arabic-language service that "an explosive device planted in a civilian vehicle exploded in central Kirkuk".

The source added that the death toll in the attack could rise.

The incident has come amid a spate of militant attacks in and around the multi-ethnic city north of Baghdad.

Earlier this month, suspected Islamic State group jihadists killed seven people in a village west of Kirkuk.

The extremist group has stepped up its attacks since the release of a purported new audio message late last month from IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared "victory" in December in the fight against IS, which seized nearly a third of the country in 2014.

But sleeper cells continue to launch attacks from sparsely populated areas in the country.