Tensions rise in northern Salahaddin province after militiamen confiscated vehicles and weapons from Iraqi President Fuad Masum's Kurdish Peshmerga bodyguards.
Days after IS fighters made a devastating incursion into Iraq's largest oil refinery, reinforcements have joined the fight.
A new Oil Police brigade has formed to guard foreign oil companies in Basra, partly in response to a rash of tribal and gang-related violence in recent months.
IS militants now control most of Iraq's largest oil refinery after a relentless offensive that has left pro-government forces in disarray.
Three days after Iraqi leaders declared the country's largest refinery secure, IS militants who control pockets of territory nearby have the facility in their crosshairs.
With a suspect in custody, Kurdistan security council says car bomb was detonated remotely.
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.
