Sunni militants invade Iraq's biggest oil refinery

Islamist-led militants have invaded Iraq's biggest oil refinery, after pounding it with mortars and machine guns from two directions.

An official quoted by Reuters said the militants now controlled 75% of the Baiji refinery, 210km (130 miles) north of Baghdad.

Government forces have made new air strikes on militants advancing towards the capital.

Fighting is also reported in the western city of Ramadi.

The government is battling to push back ISIS (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant) and its Sunni Muslim allies in Diyala and Salahuddin provinces, after the militants overran the second city, Mosul, last week.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki appeared on television with Sunni Muslim and Kurdish leaders on Tuesday to issue a call for national unity in the face of the advance - they demanded that non-state forces lay down their arms.


However, such a call is unlikely to have much effect as Mr Maliki has openly sponsored the formation of Shia Muslim militias to fight alongside regular Iraqi troops, the BBC's Jim Muir reports from Irbil in northern Iraq.

Hundreds of people have been killed since the start of the militant offensive last week, many of them believed to be captured soldiers publicly shot by ISIS-led firing squads.

During fighting in the city of Baquba this week, 44 prisoners were killed inside a police station in unclear circumstances.

In other developments:

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Tehran would not "spare any effort" to defend Shia holy shrines in Iraq against "mercenaries, murderers and terrorists"
Saudi Foreign Minister Saud bin Faisal warned that Iraq faced the risk of civil war
Turkey is investigating reports that 15 Turkish builders were abducted by ISIS on Tuesday; 80 Turks were abducted in Mosul last week
US President Barack Obama is to brief top congressional leaders on Iraq while in the UK, Prime Minister David Cameron will hold talks with his senior security advisers
Oil stores attacked

The attack on the refinery started at 04:00 (01:00 GMT) from outside two of the three main entrances to the refinery, according to Reuters.


A view of the refinery in 2009

Smoke rose from a spare parts warehouse and some stores of oil were reportedly destroyed.

Foreign personnel were evacuated earlier but local staff reportedly remained in place, with the military defending the facility.

Baiji accounts for a little more than a quarter of the country's entire refining capacity, all of which goes toward domestic consumption for things like petrol, cooking oil and fuel for power stations, an official told AP news agency.

Militants in the western province of Anbar, where the capital is Ramadi, said they had made advances, with a number of police stations near the town of Hit going over to dissident tribes.

Further north, the Iraqi government said it had recaptured the citadel in the strategic town of Tal Afar, where militants were said to have taken control on Monday.

Using unusually strong language, Mr Maliki accused Saudi Arabia - which is largely Sunni - of backing ISIS.

He also fired four army commanders for failing to halt the sweeping advance by the militants. They included the top commander for Nineveh, the first province where ISIS fighters made major gains.

With Shia areas of the capital bombed almost daily, correspondents say inhabitants of Baghdad have developed a siege mentality.

People with enough money have started to stockpile essential items of food, correspondents say, which has increased prices dramatically.


The government has insisted that food supplies are not in danger and that ISIS will not be able to take Baghdad

Young Iraqis have been volunteering to serve in the battle with the militants

Shia militiamen (pictured) have been showing their strength in Baghdad

Correspondents have warned that Iraq could be on the brink of outright sectarian war between Sunnis and Shias (seen marching here)

ISIS in Iraq


The rebels now control the northern cities of Mosul and Tikrit
ISIS grew out o