Islamic State attacks Iraq’s oil-rich northern city of Kirkuk

BEIRUT: Militants from the Islamic State group launched a multipronged attack on Friday (Saturday in Manila) on the northern Iraqi oil hub of Kirkuk, seizing a downtown building and attacking at least three points along the city’s defensive perimeter, authorities said.

Iraqi Kurdish forces said they had beaten back the assault, but a well-known commander of the Kurdish peshmerga, Brig. Gen. Sherko Shwani, was among at least seven Kurdish fighters reported killed in fighting in and around the city. Dozens of militants were reported killed in the various attacks.