Militants attack Iraq oil refinery

Islamic militants have attacked Iraq’s largest oil refinery, 155 miles north of the capital Baghdad, security chiefs say.

Fighters with the al Qaida-inspired Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isis) began their attack last night and it continued into this morning.

The Beiji plant accounts for more than a quarter of the country’s refining capacity, all of which goes towards domestic consumption for things like petrol, cooking oil and fuel for power stations.

Any lengthy outage at Beiji risks long lines at filling stations and electricity shortages, adding to the chaos already facing Iraq.