Islamic State Group Sets Oil Wells Around Tikrit on Fire

Militants from the Islamic State group set fire to oil wells located in the northeastern part of Tikrit to block the advance of the Iraqi army and Shiite militias and push them back from the surrounding areas of the city. According to Reuters, citing an eyewitness and a military source, ISIS fighters ignited the Ajil oil field to protect themselves from Iraqi helicopter attacks. This operation is one of the largest assaults by Iraqi forces against the group known as the Islamic State, which has declared a caliphate in the territories it controls in Iraq and Syria. The group has created an atmosphere of terror by beheading Arab and Western hostages and abducting members of religious minorities, including Yazidis and Christians. The eyewitness, who accompanied the Iraqi army and militias advancing from the east toward Tikrit, reported that columns of black smoke from the oil field have been visible since the afternoon of Wednesday, March 4. Although the Islamic State group lacks the technical skills necessary to fully utilize the oil fields, controlling these fields and refineries plays a significant role in its financial resources. Until June of last year, before control of the oil field fell into the hands of the Islamic State militants, the Ajil field produced 25,000 barrels of crude oil daily, which was sent to the Tikrit refinery in the northeast, and over four million cubic meters of its natural gas was transferred to the state power plant in Kirkuk. An engineer from this facility, located 35 kilometers from Tikrit, told Reuters last July that ISIS fighters pump less oil into the transfer pipelines due to their lack of expertise in extraction and concerns about igniting gas reserves in the field. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the control center of the Ajil oil field was damaged in airstrikes last August. Reuters adds that the outcome of the battle for control of Tikrit, the birthplace of Saddam Hussein, significantly affects the Iraqi forces' advance toward the north and the recapture of Mosul, the largest city under the control of the Islamic State group. Despite seven months of airstrikes by the U.S. and coalition forces, as well as arms supplies and strategic support from Iran, the Iraqi army, which is supported by Shiite militias and Kurdish Peshmerga, has yet to reclaim any of the cities under ISIS control. Iran is a key participant in the recent operations. Qassem Soleimani, commander of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, is leading operations from the eastern front, and Iran-backed militias are taking the lead in the assault. Saudi Arabia, a regional rival of Iran, issued a warning on this matter on Thursday. Prince Saud al-Faisal, the Saudi foreign minister, after talks with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, stated, 'Tikrit is a clear example of a situation we are concerned about. Iran is gaining dominance over Iraq.' The death of one of the militia leaders occurred as the Iraqi army and militias advanced from the north and south of Tikrit along the Tigris River, preparing for a joint operation in the coming days. The towns of al-Dour and al-Alam to the south and north of Tikrit are among their potential targets. This advance has reportedly been slowed by roadside bomb explosions, suicide attacks, and sniper fire. A military source reported that on Wednesday night, in a suicide attack, members of the Islamic State group used a car bomb to target a military camp east of the small town of al-Dour, killing one of the leaders of the Iran-backed militia Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq and four others.