Militants from the jihadist group Islamic State (IS) have seized control of Iraq’s biggest dam, another oil field and three more towns.<br /><br />IS (formerly known as Isis) fighters have taken over the town of Sinjar near the border with Syria.<br /><br />It follows the IS takeover of the town of Zumar and two nearby oilfields on Saturday – the group’s first major defeat of Kurdish forces since sweeping through the region in June.<br /><br />The United Nations has warned of a “humanitarian tragedy in Sinjar”, and estimates that 200,000 people have been displaced by the latest IS takeovers.<br /><br />IS, which has declared a caliphate in parts of Iraq and Syria, poses the biggest challenge to Iraq’s stability since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003.
