Iraqi security forces have eliminated 48 of the gunmen who stormed parts of Kirkuk in a shock attack claimed by the Islamic State group. <br/><br/>Brigadier General Khattab Omar Aref told news agencies that some of them blew themselves up when the security forces cornered them.<br/><br/>Special counter-terrorism and intelligence units were hunting down some of the dozens of IS fighters who stormed public buildings in the early hours of yesterday. <br/><br/>Clashes have been taking place almost uninterrupted since and the city, which lies some 240 kilometres north of Baghdad, remains under curfew.<br/><br/>A senior interior ministry official said that at least 46 other people had been killed in the IS raid and ensuing clashes, mostly members of the security forces.