KIRKUK - Two oil wells at the Khabazz oil fields near the village of Katahiya in Iraq’s northern Kirkuk province are on fire and sabotage is suspected, a police official told Rudaw on Wednesday. Kirkuk police chief Sarhad Qadir said that explosives were found at a third well, which bomb disposal units were trying to defuse. “Last night a 2:40 am two oil wells -- no.18 and no.33 -- were detonated,” Qadrir told Rudaw. “Oil well no. 40 remains booby trapped and bomb disposal units are trying to defuse the explosives,” he said. “Another well -- no.39 – was also detonated with explosives but it did not catch fire,” Qadir said. The Khabazz oil field is comprised of 41 oil wells and is located in southwestern Kirkuk. It is run by the North Oil Company, which has its own police force and belongs to the Iraqi government. The Khabazz oil well no. 2 was set ablaze last October, in an attack that authorities blamed on the Islamic State.
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