Mosul dam collapse exaggerated

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (K24) – The Iraqi Minister of Water Resources Muhsin al-Shammary announced on Sunday that rumors of the Mosul dam's collapse were aimed at halting state affairs.

In a press release published on the ministry’s website, Shammary denied all claims stating that, “The ministry has stressed multiple times that the situation in Mosul dam is nothing to worry about; however, the news about the dams collapse is surprising.”

The Ministry of Water Resources spokesman Mahdi Rasheed stated on the ministry’s website, “The Mosul dam is working very naturally, and grouting and additional construction and repairs are constant.”

On Jan. 10, New York Times newspaper revealed a phone call between US President Barack Obama and Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi where Obama underscored the need to make emergency repairs to the Mosul dam.

The newspaper also stated that the dam might collapse due to “insufficient maintenance, overwhelming major communities downstream with floodwaters.”

Mosul dam is the largest dam in Iraq and fourth largest dam in the Middle East, located on the Tigris River in the western Nineveh Province. The construction of the dam began in 1980 by a German and Italian consortium and opened in 1986.

Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi stated in December 2014 that his country will send 450 troops to defend Iraq’s strategic Mosul dam. "The call (to protect the dam) was made by an Italian company...and we will send 450 of our men there to help protect it alongside the Americans," Renzi stated.

Reporting by Baxtiyar Goran: Editing by Karzan Sulaivany