Islamic State attacks Kurdish outposts across Iraq

Smoke rises from the site of a bomb attack in Baghdad January 30, 2015. At least 12 civilians were killed on Friday morning when two bombs exploded in central Baghdad, security sources said. An initial blast in the Bab al-Sharqi district was followed by a car bomb, the sources said. At least 30 people were also wounded in the attack. REUTERS/Ahmad Mousa

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Islamic State militants struck at Kurdish forces southwest of the Iraqi city of Kirkuk on Friday, while bombs in Kirkuk, Baghdad, Samarra and Ramadi killed at least 27 people.

The Sunni Islamists have often battled Iraqi security forces and Shi'ite militias further south and west, but attacks in and around Kurdish-controlled Kirkuk have been less frequent.