Iraqi forces repel third ISIS attack in 2019 on oilfields in Salahuddin

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Iraqi security forces announced late Sunday evening that they had foiled an attack carried out by the Islamic State on oilfields in Salahuddin.

It was the latest attack by the jihadist group’s remnants targeting the strategic oilfield of Olas, located some 195 kilometers north of Iraq’s capital.

The militants launched two separate attacks on the same site in May, which were also repulsed by security forces.

The jihadists tried to approach the oilfield on Sunday evening, but security forces managed to “strongly respond to them,” the General-Directorate of the Energy Police said in a statement.

The Directorate offered no further details nor whether the clashes had resulted in any casualties.

A local security source from the area told Kurdistan 24 the attack targeted the “police regiment” stationed at the oilfields.

The Olas oilfield is located in the middle of the Hamrin Heights, an untapped oil well at the moment. Islamic State militants burnt the well, along with Ajil oilfield, when the area was under their control for three years after their emergence in 2014.

Although Iraq announced its military victory over the jihadist group in late 2017, militants continue to carry out insurgency-style attacks, ambushes, and kidnappings in the country.

Editing by Nadia Riva