Isis unleashes lasting revenge as Iraqi forces advance on Mosul
The sky is dark and heavy at noon in Qayyara, where oil wells have been burning since Iraqi forces pushed Isis out weeks ago. The jihadi militants may no longer control the town, but they unleashed a lasting revenge by setting the wells ablaze. Every few hours, when the wind shifts, the black smoke billowing […]Erika Solomon writes for Financial Times:
The sky is dark and heavy at noon in Qayyara, where oil wells have been burning since Iraqi forces pushed Isis out weeks ago. The jihadi militants may no longer control the town, but they unleashed a lasting revenge by setting the wells ablaze.
Every few hours, when the wind shifts, the black smoke billowing across the sky from the wells is mingled with an effusion of white — clouds of sulphur that are spreading from the Mishraq plant near Mosul, the last Iraqi city still under Isis control.
Just as they did with the oil wells, the extremists set the plant alight before they withdrew, underlining the scale of destruction Isis is leaving in its wake as Iraqi forces advance on Mosul. As well as its extensive use of explosive devices and suicide bombs, Isis has been setting fire to factories and oil wells to help cover its retreat. Such tactics are aimed not only at slowing Iraqi forces but also obscuring the targeting of coalition war planes.
