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Kurds claim poll lead in Iraq's Kirkuk
Sources in the two main factions did not specify what proportion of Sunday's votes had been counted so far.
The main Kurdish alliance is ahead in elections in Iraq's ethnically divided northern oil centre of Kirkuk as well in its far-northern stronghold, the two main factions have said.
Sources in the two parties did not specify what proportion of Sunday's votes had been counted so far but their comments were likely to cause concern in neighbouring Turkey, which has repeatedly spoken out against Kurdish ambitions to control Kirkuk.
The Turkish foreign ministry hit out at the conduct of the ballot in the city on Monday, while otherwise broadly welcoming Iraq's landmark election.
In a newspaper interview, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul warned Ankara would not stand idly by while Kurds took control of the city, which also has a significant Turkmen minority.
"We are observing that the situation has reached dangerous proportions," Gul told the English-language Turkish Daily News.
"If our brothers (the Turkmens) are not treated well, if they are subjected to oppression, such developments will hurt us deeply, and in a democratic society, administrations cannot remain indifferent."
Ankara has been bitterly opposed to Kurdish moves to reverse Arab settlement of Kirkuk, carried out under Saddam Hussein's regime in a bid to undermine Kurdish claims to its oil resources.
Turkish Military commanders have warned that they regard the future of the region as a vital strategic interest and have consistently championed the cause of the minority Turkmens.
