Iraq struggles to wrest control of its largest refinery

The Iraqi security forces are fighting against militants of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (EIIL) in Baiji, north of the country, to wrest control of the largest oil refinery in Iraq, located about 200 kilometers north of Baghdad. Lt. Gen. Qassem Atta has said in televised comments reported by France Presse that the security forces have ” full control ” of the premises. Moreover, a video broadcast by Al Arabiya television shows smoke coming out of the ground and the black flag, and other radical Islamist groups, using the EIIL waving in one of the buildings.

The refinery has become a battleground between Iraqi government forces and militiamen EIIL, who raided the facility on Wednesday and have managed to capture most of the plant. Workers trapped inside the complex, which extends for several kilometers near the Tigris River, have reported that Sunni militants appear to control most of the plant and that the security forces are concentrated around the control room refinery.

Baiji, located 40 kilometers north of the Saddam Hussein’s hometown, Tikrit, is within the territory captured last week by Sunni groups led by EIIL, which seeks to establish an Islamic caliphate in Iraq and Syria week.

The refinery, which produces much of the fuel that Iraqis in the north need for transportation and electricity generation, was closed by the plant personnel after evacuation of foreign employees on Monday. An official from the Ministry of Oil has stressed that the loss would refinery shortages in the north included the Autonomous Region of Kurdistan, although the impact on supply in the capital would be limited because it only receives 20% of its reserves crude.

Responsible for the Iraqi security services have denied that the refinery is about to fall into the hands of EIIL. Between 250 and 300 employees were inside the complex have been evacuated early Thursday morning thanks to a temporary truce negotiated between eill and local leaders, as explained by one of the employees. Most of the 15,800 workers and 100 foreign experts have already left the plant when it ceased activity on Tuesday.

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Posted by Maleeha Tareen on Jun 20 2014. Filed under Middle East. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.