The Iraqi air force has launched airstrikes on militant fighters' positions around the northern cities of Mosul and Tikrit after they threatened to march south to Baghdad.
Footage showed what state TV said was a bombing raid on Iraq's second city - a witness told AFP news agency at least four air strikes had been aimed at militants occupying the old palace compound of Saddam Hussein in the former dictator's home town.
Earlier, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) had paraded American Humvees it had seized from fleeing government security forces in Mosul.
Kirkuk is under the control of Kurdish fighters after Iraqi troops left The group has seized Mosul, Tikrit and Baiji and fighting has also been reported on the outskirts of Samarra, within 70 miles of the capital.
In Baiji, insurgents driving 50 vehicles were reported to have surrounded an oil refinery.
Reports claimed that "hundreds" of young men were crowding outside the main army recruiting centre in the capital to sign up and help battle the militants.
Thousands of refugees have fled the violence. Pic: UNHCR Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari told Sky News that security forces were beginning to push back the insurgents.
"This has really caused very, very serious disruption and it is a setback definitely for Iraqi security forces," he admitted.
Meanwhile, video footage emerged of militant fighters with Iraqi soldiers captured as the parliament failed to agree on a state of emergency in the country.
Abu Bakr al Baghdadi leads the ISI insurgents A senior government official told the AFP news agency that only 128 of 325 MPs attended the emergency session, which could have seen extra powers given to Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki.
ISIS, led by Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, wants to create a Sunni state, or caliphate, straddling the border between Iraq and Syria. It had previously seized control of Fallujah and parts of Ramadi.
In a statement, the group's spokesman Abu Mohammed al Adnani said: "The battle is not yet raging, but it will in Baghdad and Karbala.
"We have a score to settle, for there is an old balance with it (Baghdad), and we must make it even."
Karbala, southwest of the capital, is one of the holiest sites for Shiite Muslims.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani warned on state television the country's security forces would combat terrorism which targeted Shiites in Iraq.
Militants left a trail of destruction in the northern city of Mosul Sky's Diplomatic Editor Tim Marshall said: "The Americans do not want Baghdad to fall, it's embarrassing, because if Baghdad falls then you're starting to march down toward the south.
"A threat to Baghdad and then the south would then threaten the oil supply and then things get even more serious."
In the north, the Iraqi army has abandoned its bases in Kirkuk leaving the Kurdish Peshmerga forces to take control, according to a spokesman.
Security has been stepped up at checkpoints in the Iraqi capital Jabbar Yawar told the Reuters news agency: "The whole of Kirkuk has fallen into the hands of the Peshmerga. No Iraq army remains in Kirkuk now."
More than 500,000 people have fled the conflict in the Mosul region, with many heading into Kurdish areas in the north.
US State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said America would support a "unified approach" against ISIS aggression.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague ruled out any military intervention and top officials of NATO also said they had no plans to get involved militarily.
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