ISIL Seizes Iraq-Jordan Border as Kerry Visits Baghdad
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U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry called on Iraqi leaders to unite against an al-Qaeda breakaway group amid reports it drove the army from a key oil refinery and extended territorial gains as far as the Jordanian border.
After almost two weeks of fighting for control of the refinery at Baiji, north of Baghdad, the Iraqi army withdrew from remaining positions there late yesterday, local police said by phone. It’s now in the control of tribes fighting alongside the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, Al-Arabiya television reported, citing Abu Abd al-Nuaimi, a spokesman for the tribal group. Government spokesman Ali al-Musawi and the Oil Ministry in Baghdad couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.