The attack occurred near the town of Qaratappa in Diyala province, he said.

"Eight peshmerga members were killed and five wounded when terrorists attacked their outpost," said Yawar, who heads the peshmerga force in northern Iraq's Kurdish administration.

He said the firefight lasted for more than two hours during which three of the attackers were also killed.

The region around Qaratappa has a significant population of Kurdish Shiites and peshmerga guards have been deployed there amid the continuing security crackdowns in the province.