Environmental Damage as a Weapon of War? Open Source Industrial Risk Analysis of the Mosul Battle

Oct 25, 2016 | Wim Zwijnenburg
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The start of the operation to retake Mosul from the Islamic State (IS)  has seen unprecedented use of environmental pollution as a means to hinder the advancing of troops and as an apocalyptic scorched earth tactic. In June 2016, when Iraqi forces were approaching the city of Qayyara, in Ninewa province, IS set alight dozens of oil wells, and flooded the streets with crude oil. The oil has also polluted the Tigris river, a source of drinking water and lead to an accumulation of health problems.

Thousands of civilians and armed forces were exposed to the noxious fumes from the burning oil wells, which have been on fire now for for almost 4 months. Meanwhile, local environment faced severe pollution from the crude oil and the burned oil particles, rendering local agricultural lands useless, and affecting livestock. In September 2016, rumours spread that the Islamic State, anticipating the assault on Mosul, were digging trenches around the city and planning to fill them up with crude oil that when burned would blacken the skies and hinder airstrikes. A few days after the start of the attack on the city, these rumours turned into reality, as huge dark clouds of burning oil spread. North of Mosul, a number of fires were seen on satellite images around towns and villages as result of the ongoing fighting.