The UN agencies are stepping up humanitarian aid in north Iraq, where humanitarian and security situation is worsening due to recent attacks by militants, a UN spokesperson told reporters Friday.

"The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) is concerned about the shortage of shelter as the displacement numbers increase in Iraq," Xinhua quoted deputy UN spokesperson Farhan Haq as saying at a daily news briefing.

"Some 300,000 people are reported to have arrived in Erbil and Duhok with little more than the clothes they were wearing," Haq said. "Many families in Duhok are sheltering in schools, mosques, churches and unfinished buildings"A growing number of people were now staying in a transit camp near the Khazair checkpoint, near Mosul," he said. "UNHCR has helped the Iraqi government set-up tents and is providing other relief items."

Other UN agencies are installing latrines and water tanks, he said, adding that a new camp, expected to host some 3,000 people, has been set up near Duhok in the Kurdistan region.

"Two more sites are being planned in the area," he said.

"UNHCR has observed that some Mosul families are returning after hearing that water and electricity services have been restored," he said. "As many as 25,000 people are displaced within Mosul."