North Oil Company official gunned down in Kirkuk

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - An official from the North Oil Company (NOC) was gunned down by a group of unidentified militants in Kirkuk on Monday evening, said a police official.

“At around 7pm tonight, a number of unidentified gunmen fired on Ahmed Abid Mutlak, head of the mechanic department from the North Oil Company,” said the source, adding that “the reason for killing Mutlak remains unknown.”

No group has claimed responsibility for the murder, as of yet.

The source added that the “gunmen fled to an unknown place using a Toyota Camry vehicle.”

Police have opened an investigation. No suspect related to the incident has been apprehended yet.

NOC is a state company within the Ministry of Oil of Iraq. It operates in oil and gas production in Kirkuk, Nineveh, Erbil, Baghdad, and Diyala provinces as well as in parts of Hilla and Kut.