The KRG fears federal Iraqi forces are plotting a "major attack" days after tensions combusted into two, hour-long firefights near the disputed Bai Hassan oil field.
The Hawija offensive is nearly complete, causing some Iraqi leaders to declare victory - but there is still fighting to be done.
Kurdish security forces and Iranian tanks have deployed to opposite sides of the Parwezkhan crossing, as Baghdad moves to exert federal control over border posts.
Multiple wellheads at the Alas field are burning as IS militants defend one of their last Iraqi strongholds from an ongoing offensive.
The KRG oil sector is in the crosshairs of Iraq's Parliament and Turkey's president, who are seeking to stop the momentum of Kurdish secession after Monday's referendum.
Despite a lack of close coordination with Peshmerga, federal security forces started an offensive to retake the IS group's last major stronghold in northern Iraq.
Iraqi forces are advancing toward Ana, Rawa and al-Qaim – an operation that promises to clear the last major IS strongholds in Anbar province and reclaim the Akkas gas field.
In the northern Iraqi town of Mandali, controversy over Kurdistan's planned independence vote unleashed unruly protests and rogue paramilitaries.
Long-standing disputes over Kirkuk and its oil threaten to turn allies against each other as they prepare to chase IS from one of its last strongholds in Iraq.
PKK abducts four Turkish agents in Sulaimaniya who were allegedly targeting the group's leader, elevating tensions ahead of the KRG's controversial independence referendum.
