Production and expansion work continue at key gas field after yet another attack highlights unresolved Iraqi government security failures.
Attackers did not penetrate consulate security or injure any American personnel, but at least three people were killed.
After seizing Tikrit and setting sights on further gains, pro-government forces have been put on their heels by IS offensives.
As the assault enters its fourth day, IS militants have punched a hole in the security perimeter of Iraq's largest refinery.
Several attacks by IS fighters over the weekend highlight the ongoing challenge of establishing the security zone needed to protect and re-start Iraq's largest refinery.
Iraq's interior minister toured southern Iraq to promote a security plan and allay concerns over recent violence and the government's increasing dependence on militias.
After being ousted from Ajil and Hamrin oil fields, IS fighters are launching deadly asymmetrical attacks that continue to cripple Iraq's northern oil sector.
Shia militias who chased Islamic State militants from Diyala province are being blamed for intensifying sectarian violence, including the assassination of two aides to the governor.
A bomb exploded Sunday on an oil pipeline that carries crude from the Naft Khana oil field, in Diyala province, to Baghdad's Daura refinery.
Disputes between tribes in Basra and Missan turn violent as government security forces – spread thin by the fight against IS militants – struggle to restore order.
At least three people were killed by a truck bomb Wednesday in Basra province – an area that has recently been relatively insulated from such attacks.
