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The UN mission to Baghdad says it is investigating allegations of human rights abuses in a disputed Iraqi town where national armed forces clashed with Kurdish fighters in October.

Iraq's military seized territories held by Kurdish forces following a controversial referendum on Kurdish independence that took place on 25 September.

Armed forces and allied militias took control of the northern Kirkuk province and its lucrative oil fields after a fast-paced operation which saw Kurdish forces retreat with little resistance.

The Kurds took over the city of Kirkuk in 2014 when Iraq's army melted away ahead of the Islamic State group's blitz across northern and western Iraq.

The UN said on Tuesday that it launched the probe after reports of people fleeing the town of Tuz Khurumatu, where some 150 homes belonging to Kurds and ethnic Turkmen were reportedly set ablaze.

Most Kurdish forces withdrew from Tuz Khurumatu and other areas without a fight when Iraqi troops and state-backed Shia paramilitary forces moved in.

More than 100,000 Kurds fled Kirkuk during the Iraqi army takeover of the province.

The UN noted at the time that Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi had acknowledged incidents by what he called "extremist elements from both sides" amid his decision to send the army to restore order in Tuz Khurumatu.

Kurds make up two-thirds of Kirkuk's population of 800,000, with 25 percent Turkmen and the rest Arab Muslims and Christians.