ISIS assaults northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk

Islamic State (ISIS) militants attacked the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk early Friday. The assault, which continued into the late afternoon, appears aimed at diverting Iraqi security forces away from the offensive against ISIS-held city of Mosul. ISIS attackers stormed a power plant north of Kirkuk, killing at least 13 workers before they blew themselves up. Explosions and gun battles rang throughout the city, as well, many of them around a government compound, according to witnesses. Local Kurdish television channel Rudaw quoted Kirkuk Gov. Najmadin Karim as saying the militants had not seized any government buildings. There has been no word on Kurdish forces or civilian causalities. Hundreds of thousands of displaced people have entered Kirkuk province since 2014. ISIS attackers may have posed as displaced civilians to infiltrate the city, according to a senior commander of Kurdish peshmerga forces.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.