Iraqi forces have fought fierce battles with armed rebels around the country’s biggest oil refinery at Baiji, 200km north of the capital, shutting down the facility and stoking fears of a disruption in national energy supplies.
State TV reported that Iraqi forces backed by airplanes on Friday repelled four attacks on the Baiji refinery by rebels from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
A local source in Baiji told Al Jazeera that the rebels withdrew after heavy clashes and that the refinery remained closed.
The town of Baiji is already in rebel hands.
At least 36 soldiers were killed in clashes elsewhere in the country during the day. They included 16 soldiers killed in Anbar province after their convoy came under attack.
The latest fighting came as Iraq’s most respected Shia cleric called on Shias and Sunnis to rally behind the authorities to prevent the ISIL from destroying the country.
Iraqi forces have fought fierce battles with armed rebels around the country’s biggest oil refinery at Baiji, 200km north of the capital, shutting down the facility and stoking fears of a disruption in national energy supplies.
State TV reported that Iraqi forces backed by airplanes on Friday repelled four attacks on the Baiji refinery by rebels from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
A local source in Baiji told Al Jazeera that the rebels withdrew after heavy clashes and that the refinery remained closed.
