Islamic State suspected of oil field attack Tuesday near Kirkuk

Last Update: 2019-12-25 00:00:00- Source: Iraq Oil Report

One oil facilities protection officer was shot to death late Tuesday in a suspected Islamic State (IS) group attack on a vulnerable well of the Khabbaz oil field, 25 kilometers southwest of Kirkuk.

Multiple security and industry officials confirmed the incident, which injured two others who were part of a unit guarding the field. Two more police officers are missing, according to an officer in the government-backed al-Hashid al-Ashayari paramilitary group, and security forces were still searching for them at the time of publication.

Tuesday's attack is the latest in a series of increasingly frequent and successful operations by the IS group on oil-rich areas in northern Iraq, where they have taken advantage of a security vacuum.

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