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By Nia Williams

Mon Jan 19, 2015 3:06pm EST

A man fills up his car at a petrol station in Rome January 6, 2015.

Credit: Reuters/Max Rossi

(Reuters) - Brent crude oil prices fell below $49 a barrel and U.S. crude also fell more than $1 on Monday after the global economic outlook darkened and Iraq announced record oil production.

The world's biggest energy consumer, China, faces significant downward pressure on its economy, its premier Li Keqiang was quoted by state radio as saying on Monday.

China is expected this week to report growth slowing to 7.2 percent from a year ago, the weakest since the depths of the last global economic crisis. Data from China's National Bureau of Statistics showed on Sunday house prices fell for a fourth straight month.

Brent crude settled at $48.84 a barrel, down $1.33. U.S. benchmark crude was last trading down $1.17 at $47.52 a barrel.

Trading volumes were thin and there was no official settle for U.S. crude as U.S. markets were closed for the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday.

Oil prices have dropped by more than half since June as output around the world soared while demand growth slowed. Although the International Energy Agency (IEA) said last week a reversal in the trend was possible this year, it noted prices may fall further before rising.

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Oil slips $1 on China economy worries, record Iraq output ...

Mala Qara, Iraq In the bright January sunshine, Kurdish fighters pose for photographs and dance around an armored vehicle seized from Islamic State militants in Gwer, a small but strategic town in northern Iraq.

The mood was far more somber earlier this month after a surprise IS attack left dozens dead, highlighting the vulnerability of Kurdish peshmerga forces and their regional capital, Erbil, where American military and civilian personnel are based.

Backed by US air power, Kurds have beenlargely on the offensive against IS since last summer. Kurdish forces have clawed back territory andpainstakingly restored their warrior image. Butthroughout January, IS forces have carried out stinging attacks along the frontline of northern Iraq, demonstrating their capacity to modify tactics and threaten Kurdish gains.

There were some gaps in our security, but weve taken care of all these gaps and this will never happen again, vows Qadir Qadir, a peshmerga commander in Gwer, where the frontline is demarcated by the Upper Zab river.

Kurdish commanders reckon they can see off the renewed IS assaults, but admit this depends on ongoing US-led coalition airstrikes. And they stress they are badly in need of improved weaponry in the fight against IS, which controls large swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria.

In his State of the Union address on Tuesday, President Barack Obama said the military campaign against IS was working.This effort will take time, Obama told Congress. It will require focus. But we will succeed."

The surprise IS attack began after dusk on the night of Jan. 9, with 160 militants crossing the foggy river on 15 boats provided by Sunni Arab villagers. In total,IS forces launched nine attacks in the sector of Gwer and Makhmour, two towns on the outskirts of Erbil, where forces are under the command of Sirwan Barzani.

Mr. Barzani says the attack was foiled with the help of coalition airstrikes, the arrival of a quick reaction force of 615 men, and the guidance of nine US military advisers present in the area at the time.

Many of the Kurdish combatants say the assault exploited a technology gap between the two sides.In all of my sector, which covers 230 kilometers, we dont have any thermal or night vision goggles, explains Mr. Barzani, nephew of Kurdish President Massoud Barzani. They [IS fighters] are always using new technologies, so we have to be weary about that because they are not an easy enemy at all. They are really dangerous.

New IS tactics include the use of armored vehicles and Humvees to stage suicide attacks a lavish sacrifice in the eyes of outgunned peshmergas and a potent reminder that the IS stockpile includes weapons seized from the Iraqi and Syrian armies.

Excerpt from:
Iraq's Kurds scramble to fend off new Islamic State assault

Mala Qara, Iraq In the bright January sunshine, Kurdish fighters pose for photographs and dance around an armored vehicle seized from Islamic State militants in Gwer, a small but strategic town in northern Iraq.

The mood was far more somber earlier this month after a surprise IS attack left dozens dead, highlighting the vulnerability of Kurdish peshmerga forces and their regional capital, Erbil, where American military and civilian personnel are based.

Backed by US air power, Kurds have beenlargely on the offensive against IS since last summer. Kurdish forces have clawed back territory andpainstakingly restored their warrior image. Butthroughout January, IS forces have carried out stinging attacks along the frontline of northern Iraq, demonstrating their capacity to modify tactics and threaten Kurdish gains.

There were some gaps in our security, but weve taken care of all these gaps and this will never happen again, vows Qadir Qadir, a peshmerga commander in Gwer, where the frontline is demarcated by the Upper Zab river.

Kurdish commanders reckon they can see off the renewed IS assaults, but admit this depends on ongoing US-led coalition airstrikes. And they stress they are badly in need of improved weaponry in the fight against IS, which controls large swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria.

In his State of the Union address on Tuesday, President Barack Obama said the military campaign against IS was working.This effort will take time, Obama told Congress. It will require focus. But we will succeed."

The surprise IS attack began after dusk on the night of Jan. 9, with 160 militants crossing the foggy river on 15 boats provided by Sunni Arab villagers. In total,IS forces launched nine attacks in the sector of Gwer and Makhmour, two towns on the outskirts of Erbil, where forces are under the command of Sirwan Barzani.

Mr. Barzani says the attack was foiled with the help of coalition airstrikes, the arrival of a quick reaction force of 615 men, and the guidance of nine US military advisers present in the area at the time.

Many of the Kurdish combatants say the assault exploited a technology gap between the two sides.In all of my sector, which covers 230 kilometers, we dont have any thermal or night vision goggles, explains Mr. Barzani, nephew of Kurdish President Massoud Barzani. They [IS fighters] are always using new technologies, so we have to be weary about that because they are not an easy enemy at all. They are really dangerous.

New IS tactics include the use of armored vehicles and Humvees to stage suicide attacks a lavish sacrifice in the eyes of outgunned peshmergas and a potent reminder that the IS stockpile includes weapons seized from the Iraqi and Syrian armies.

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Iraq's Kurds scramble to fend off new Islamic State assault (+video)

British RAF Tornado Strikes ISIS In Iraq
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British RAF Tornado Strikes ISIS In Iraq - Video

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CNN News ISIS | Secret video of ISIS smuggled out of Iraq - Video