Two oil wells explode in Kirkuk

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – Two Khabbaz oil field wells in Kirkuk Province exploded on Wednesday, and one more well is wired with bombs, said a Kurdish police chief in the province.

Brigadier Sarhad Qadir, chief of Kirkuk suburban police, told Kurdistan24 that, “Two oil wells of Khabbaz field in Kirkuk were exploded at 2:00 a.m. on Wednesday.”

He mentioned that besides the two exploded wells, another oil well is wired with explosives.

Khabbaz field consists of several oil wells, and this is not the first time that the wells get exploded. Previously, Islamic State (IS) insurgents controlled some of those areas for a few hours, destroying some of the wells.

Fuad Hussein, a member of Kirkuk Provincial Council (KPC) in the oil and energy committee, spoke to Kurdistan24 and confirmed that oil wells 18 and 33 in Khabbaz field were bombed.

“The oil well number three has been wired with bombs. Police and security forces are making efforts to defuse it,” Hussein said.

Regarding the identity of those who exploded the wells, he stated, “It could be Da’esh [IS] because the wells are located in southwestern Kirkuk, close to areas that are currently under Da’esh’s control.”

Hussein also revealed that in the past, IS has often tried to explode Khabbaz oil fields.

Kirkuk is a Kurdish province located in the southeast of the Kurdistan Region. The province is made up of different ethnic and religious groups, including Turkmen, Christians, Sunni Arab and Shia Arab with Kurdish majority.

Reporting by Mewan Dolamari
Editing by Ava Homa and Karzan Sulaivany