An attack by suicide bombers on a police station in the northern Iraqi city of Samarra has killed three policemen.

Officials said four gunmen wearing suicide vests assaulted the Mutawakil district police station in Samarra late on January 2, taking control of it.

A shoot-out lasting several hours ended early on January 3 with all four attackers dead. Three police -- including a lieutenant colonel -- were killed and four others injured in the standoff.

The Islamic State (IS) group claimed responsibility for the attack on its Amaq news agency.

Samarra, which is in Iraq's Salah al-Din Province, is about 110 kilometers north of Baghdad.

The city hosts a major Iraqi security headquarters and is also home to an important Shi'ite shrine.

IS militants consider Shi'a to be heretics.

Based on reporting by AFP and Al-Arabiya