Updated

Iraq's foreign minister says the deadliest and most sustained wave of violence to hit the country since 2008 won't lead to civil war.

Hoshyar Zebari said in an interview with The Associated Press that Iraqis have been close to civil war "and there is no winner, so everybody is pushing the envelope to the limit, but not pushing it over the edge."

More than 2,000 people have been killed in bombings and attacks in Iraq since the start of April, raising fears the nation is returning to the widespread sectarian-charged bloodshed that pushed it to the brink of civil war in 2006 and 2007.

Zebari said Iraq is far better off than countries emerging from the Arab Spring protests.

"Iraq is not crashing," he said Thursday. "The crisis is manageable."