With rival armed forces massed near strategically important oil assets, federal and KRG negotiators are at an impasse.
A new armed group has appeared in northern Iraq, causing locals to fear that IS is regrouping and re-branding for guerrilla warfare.
Thousands of federal and Kurdish soldiers are pointing their weapons at each other, leaving volatile territory inadequately guarded and vulnerable to an emboldened IS insurgency.
Gas field facilities have been ravaged and booby-trapped by IS militants, and tensions are mounting between rival security forces.
Four oil smuggling operations have been uncovered, but the suspected perpetrators are so powerful that security forces cannot safely make public accusations.
The IS group is on the verge of losing the rest of its urban territory – and Iraq soon gets back its largest gas field.
Iraqi troops attempt to cross the Peshmerga line in a bid to control a strategic choke point for northern oil exports.
Federal forces are massing for a potential operation to take Feyshkabour, which would effectively end Kurdistan's independent pipeline exports.
Federal forces scramble to reinforce dramatic gains in Iraq's disputed territories, as the KRG fortifies a key oil asset in anticipation of another potential confrontation.
Federal forces regain control of government buildings, military bases, and oil fields – including Bai Hassan and Avana – which had been appropriated by the KRG.
