Islamic State militants stormed two energy facilities in northern Iraq on Sunday, killing at least five workers and shutting down a major oil pumping station, security and oil sources said.
Advertisement
The militants there used the same approach to enter the facility before blowing up an oil storage tank inside, the sources said. It was not yet clear if the attackers had been killed or if they had fled.
The attack killed an engineer and wounded seven other people, according to the peshmerga colonel and a police officer of the same rank.
Amaq news agency, which supports Islamic State, said in a message distributed online that Islamic State fighters had stormed the Bai Hassan facility, but made no mention of the earlier attack.
While no group has claimed responsibility for the attacks, Daesh has previously detonated explosives at an oilfield southwest of Kirkuk.
The security forces are in full control of the oil field after killing the last suicide bombers, and a search operation is underway inside the facility looking for any more attackers, the source added.
Advertisement
Forces from Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region control part of Kirkuk, while IS also holds territory in the province. The security forces shot dead one of them while the four others blew themselves up later after clashes with the troops, the source added.
