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.
Early assessments are dire after IS militants sabotaged Ajil and Hamrin as they fled an onslaught by pro-government forces.
Hamrin set on fire as militants flee, though IS still controls Ajil, as various Iraqi forces close in around Tikrit.
IS fighters are continuing to launch attacks on the strategically important town of al-Baghdadi, in Anbar province, days after pro-government forces reasserted control of the area.
