Battle rages for Iraq's largest oil refinery
Islamist-led militants and pro-government forces are engaged in fierce battles for the Baiji oil refinery and Tal Afar airport in northern Iraq
Sunni militants on Thursday near the Baiji oil refinery in northern Iraq.
Iraqi forces are reportedly holding off rebels from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant at the country's largest oil refinery, some 200km north of the capital.
The Baiji refinery was shut down on Tuesday after rebels launched an attack. Baiji, Iraq's biggest refinery, is surrounded by the rebels, who say they have seized most of Tal Afar airport.
The fighting comes a day after the US said it would send some 300 military advisers to help the fight against the insurgents.
President Barack Obama stressed that US troops would not fight in Iraq.
US Secretary of State Kerry is expected to travel to Iraq soon to press for a more representative cabinet, hoping this could ease tensions between the country's rival Muslim sects.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki has been accused of pursuing anti-Sunni policies, pushing some Sunni militants to join the jihadist Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS), which has made rapid advances in recent days
A government spokesman said earlier on Thursday that Iraqi forces were in "complete control" of the site but a witness said the fighting was continuing.
Baiji lies in territory captured in the past week by the ISIS fighters and its Sunni allies, and is close to Tikrit.
The Iraqi government made a public request for US air strikes on Wednesday to thwart the assault.
The US has urged Maliki to reach out to Sunnis, many of whom feel excluded by the Shia parties that have dominated elections since Saddam Hussein was overthrown.
The secular Baath party, a political monopoly under Saddam, called on Iraqis to unite against Maliki.
"All the true, vibrant colours of our great Iraqi people must come together under one banner, against the American and Iranian conspiracies and their treacherous government under Maliki and their disgraceful sectarian and ethnic militias."
Iraq's neighbours have also urged political intervention as the only solution to heal the country's sectarian divisions.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish prime minister, warned that US air strikes could lead to a high number of civilian deaths with "ISIL elements ... mixed in with the people".
Saudi Arabia's foreign minister, Prince Saud al-Faisal, instructed Maliki to follow the policy pursued by the kingdom to eradicate "terrorism".
