Fatal attack on Kirkuk oil field claimed by ISIS
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — The Islamic State (ISIS) has claimed responsibility for an attack on a Kirkuk oil field Wednesday morning. Iraq’s oil ministry reported an unspecified number of deaths and injuries as a result of the attack, which blew up two oil fields.
“Bay Hassan field in Kirkuk governorate was attacked by terrorists at dawn today, which resulted in the bombing of wells (183) and (177), and the killing and wounding of a number of security forces and energy police,” reads a statement from the Iraqi oil ministry.
A security official told AFP that "Islamic State group assailants" killed a policeman and "wounded two others".
This is not the first time oil fields in Kirkuk come under attack.
Two oil wells were bombed at the Khabbaz oilfield in December.
Security has been a constant concern in disputed areas like Kirkuk. Despite being territorially defeated in Iraq in December 2017, ISIS has exploited security gaps between Iraqi forces and Kurdish Peshmerga in the province, with remnants carrying out numerous attacks against security forces and civilians.
The provinces of Diyala, Salahaddin, and Nineveh are also common targets of the ISIS remnant attacks.
ISIS claimed, via its propaganda channels on Telegram, that armed militants attacked Peshmerga barracks near Prde (Altun Kupri), north of Kirkuk city, killing seven and wounding two others.
The militants attacked the Peshmerga’s Brigade 10 in Prde on Saturday, which resulted in a 45-minute clash. Peshmerga commander Nuri Hama Ali told Rudaw that three of his fighters were killed and two wounded.
One fighter from the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF, or Hashd al Shaabi in Arabic) was killed and three others were injured in an ISIS attack on the PMF’s Brigade 16 in Kirkuk late on Monday, Iraqi state media said on Tuesday.
In its weekly propaganda newspaper al-Naba, ISIS claimed on Thursday it had conducted 38 attacks across Iraq between April 22 and 28, killing and injuring 74 people.
“Bay Hassan field in Kirkuk governorate was attacked by terrorists at dawn today, which resulted in the bombing of wells (183) and (177), and the killing and wounding of a number of security forces and energy police,” reads a statement from the Iraqi oil ministry.
A security official told AFP that "Islamic State group assailants" killed a policeman and "wounded two others".
This is not the first time oil fields in Kirkuk come under attack.
Two oil wells were bombed at the Khabbaz oilfield in December.
Security has been a constant concern in disputed areas like Kirkuk. Despite being territorially defeated in Iraq in December 2017, ISIS has exploited security gaps between Iraqi forces and Kurdish Peshmerga in the province, with remnants carrying out numerous attacks against security forces and civilians.
The provinces of Diyala, Salahaddin, and Nineveh are also common targets of the ISIS remnant attacks.
ISIS claimed, via its propaganda channels on Telegram, that armed militants attacked Peshmerga barracks near Prde (Altun Kupri), north of Kirkuk city, killing seven and wounding two others.
The militants attacked the Peshmerga’s Brigade 10 in Prde on Saturday, which resulted in a 45-minute clash. Peshmerga commander Nuri Hama Ali told Rudaw that three of his fighters were killed and two wounded.
One fighter from the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF, or Hashd al Shaabi in Arabic) was killed and three others were injured in an ISIS attack on the PMF’s Brigade 16 in Kirkuk late on Monday, Iraqi state media said on Tuesday.
In its weekly propaganda newspaper al-Naba, ISIS claimed on Thursday it had conducted 38 attacks across Iraq between April 22 and 28, killing and injuring 74 people.