Power struggles among rival Kurdish forces, several backed by the U.S., are frustrating a long-planned offensive to retake the city whose sacking drew the world’s attention to the IS invasion.

Kirkuk security forces suppress IS militants' shock suicide attack raid behind the front line near key oil fields.

Long-time head of oil police now moved to reconstituted jurisdiction over the country's borders.

Deadly confrontations in Sulaimaniya province are destabilizing a region already reeling from overlapping political, economic and security crises.

Pro-government forces have launched a multi-pronged attack, tightening the military blockade around the city and setting the stage for a deeper assault.

In the week after a Peshmerga offensive designed to insulate key oil infrastructure from IS threats, North Gas Company and the Khabbaz oil field have come under attack.

A successful offensive Wednesday to the west of Kirkuk increases the buffer zone separating key oil infrastructure from IS militants.

The Ibrahim Khalil border crossing, the Kurdistan region’s busiest, has been periodically closed by Turkey as it targets PKK fighters and supporters.

After KRG forces win territory from IS militants south of Kirkuk, officers report widespread theft and destruction of homes belonging to displaced Sunni Arabs.