He scored a penalty kick in Round 12 in a 6–1 loss against Al-Diwaniya and scored two goals in Round 13 in a 2–2 draw with Al-Ramadi. His fifth goal came in a 1–1 draw with Al-Naft in Round 35 (although the result was changed to a 3–0 defeat due to the fielding of an ineligible player), and he scored again in Round 39 in a 1–0 win over Al-Karkh. Kirkuk failed to qualify for the 2000–01 Iraqi Premier League (then known as the Iraqi Elite League) and therefore played in the second-tier, but they managed to get promoted back to the top division at the first time of asking by winning the league, with Mahmoud being the second-highest scorer of the second-tier with 19 goals. At Kirkuk, he was discovered by scouts of Baghdad-based teams Al-Shorta and Al-Talaba, two of Iraq's biggest clubs, and he went on trial with Al-Shorta only to be turned down by their manager Ahmed Radhi. After this, Mahmoud transferred to Al-Talaba. Al-Talaba Mahmoud's first match for Al-Talaba was the opening game of the 2001–02 Iraqi Elite League against his former club, Kirkuk. Al-Talaba won the match 8–0 and Mahmoud scored a hat-trick within the space of 10 minutes. Mahmoud won his first trophy with the club when Al-Talaba defeated Al-Zawraa 2–1 in the 2001 Baghdad Day Cup; Mahmoud scored Al-Talaba's second goal in the game. Al-Talaba's penultimate league game of the season was a 2–0 win over Al-Karkh, with Mahmoud scoring both of Al-Talaba's goals. This match secured Al-Talaba their fifth league title, as they won the league with 91 points; Mahmoud scored 13 goals in the league that season. Al-Talaba also won the Iraq FA Cup that season to secure the double. Mahmoud scored 6 goals in that competition and assisted the winning goal in the final. That season, Al-Talaba also reached the final of the Iraqi Elite Cup, but they lost the final 1–0 to Al-Shorta; Mahmoud scored 4 goals in that competition. Mahmoud's Al-Talaba started the 2002–03 campaign by winning the 2002 Perseverance Cup (now known as Iraqi Super Cup) 2–1 against Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya. The Iraqi Elite League was renamed 'Iraqi First Division' for the 2002–03 season and Mahmoud scored 13 goals in the league that season before it was cancelled due to war. Al-Talaba won the Iraq FA Cup again and also lost the Iraqi Elite Cup final to Al-Shorta