Iraq: Torching and Extortion: OSINT Analysis of Burning Agriculture in Iraq

Jun 3, 2019 | Wim Zwijnenburg, Bellingcat
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In early May 2019, it was reported that agricultural areas of central and northern Iraq were being set ablaze — allegedly by remaining pockets of fighters from the so-called Islamic State. The motive was said to have been punishment of farmers who refused to pay protection money to the terrorist organization. There is evidence that in the no-man’s land between Kurdish positions near Makhmour and federally-controlled Hamrin, ISIS members have been torching crops to force farmers to pay them taxes: