The attack took place in the town of Jalawla in Diyala late Wednesday, the security official from the peshmerga forces said on condition of anonymity.

Five others were seriously wounded in the attack, he added.

Jalawla is largely a Shiite Kurdish town and troops from the peshmerga security forces of northern Iraq's Kurdish region are deployed there along with other forces as part of the security plan for the region, the official said.

Diyala is one of the most dangerous regions of Iraq where US and Iraqi forces are engaged in sustained military assaults targeting Al-Qaeda in Iraq militants.