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Iraq takes Akkas gas field from Islamic State control

The IS group is on the verge of losing the rest of its urban territory – and Iraq soon gets back its largest gas field.
An Iraqi army vehicle secures the Akkas gas field in the western desert of Iraq October 19, 2010. (ALI AL-MASHHADANI/Reuters)

Iraqi security forces are gaining control of the Akkas gas field, as they prosecute the final phase of an offensive to dislodge the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS) militant group from the deserts of western Anbar province.

"Engineering teams from the [Iraqi Army's] 7th Division are working on defusing improvised explosive devices, so security forces can advance and retake the whole field," said Abu Mahath al-Jughaifi, one of the leaders of a tribal paramilitary operating under the government's al-Hashid al-Shabi (Popular Mobilization) program, in a Tuesday interview.

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