Iraq/Kurdistan: Kurds Recapture Iraq Oil Fields, Advance on Rebel-Held Towns

Aug 28, 2014 | Bloomberg
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Kurdish and Iraqi forces recaptured two oil fields and mounted an offensive to retake the town of Zummar, part of a broader bid to recover areas of the country’s north lost to Islamic State fighters.

Kurdish fighters, known as Peshmerga, retook Ain Zala and Batma oil fields in northern Iraq, Hisham al-Brefkani, head of the energy committee of Nineveh provincial council, said by phone today. Islamic State militants set fire to a crude oil storage tank as they tried to halt the advance, al-Brefkani said, denying earlier reports that two oil wells were set on fire. Kurdish forces also took control of several villages around Zummar, he said.