A police commander in Kirkuk says the assault by the Islamic State group on the northern Iraqi city that began early Friday has killed at least 80 people, mostly security forces, AP reported.
Brig. Gen. Khattab Omer says another 170 people were wounded in the assault, which involved a wave of attacks in and around the city by more than 50 militants. Fighting raged in the Kirkuk city center for 24 hours, and skirmishes were ongoing in other parts of the city on Saturday.
The attack appeared to be intended to divert attention from Mosul, some 170 kilometers (100 miles) away, where Iraq has launched a major offensive aimed at driving out the extremists. IS captured Mosul, Iraq's second largest city, in the summer of 2014.