Iraq: Fireballs and Booby Traps: On the Front Lines with the Oil Workers Battling ISIS

Feb 12, 2017 | Peter Holley, Washington Post
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Fifty miles north in Mosul, beleaguered Islamic State fighters have lost control of half of their last major stronghold as Iraqi security forces advance. But at least five of the 25 oil well fires left in the militants’ wake still rage, according to Reuters, forming a second front in the battle for Iraq that is no less dangerous for the proud men involved. Each well is a battle unto itself, revealing the militants’ willingness to harness chaotic destruction as a weapon.