Oil fires in Iraq’s Qayyara region still burning

Iraq’s oil ministry said that they have put out fires in six more oil wells in the Qayyara region, the oil-producing region that the Iraqi forces recaptured from Islamic State just last month. However, at least three fires are still raging in the area.

The Islamic State militants sabotaged much of Qayyara’s oil infrastructure before fleeing ahead of the government advance, sending black smoke into the sky for days and oil pouring into main thoroughfares.

The authorities said that they had already put out fires from four wells, but a news agency correspondent visiting the city saw around a dozen separate plumes of smoke. A military officer in the area said on September 4 that the fires were still blazing.

“The firefighting consisted of removing explosives from these wells, putting out the fires and preventing crude oil from leaking into the river to prevent pollution,” ministry spokesman Asim Jihad said.

Dirt walls and trenches have also been built by responders to prevent oil from reaching residential neighborhoods, he added.

Jihad said three wells that remain outside the control of the security forces would be extinguished as soon as they were recaptured.