Battle for Iraq's largest oil refinery far from over
- 10 years ago
It looks like the battle for control of the town that is home to Iraq’s largest oil refinery is far from over.
Latest footage from the area shows Iraqi soldiers engaged in heavy fighting with ISIL militants.
There have been mixed reports about the fate of the town and the refinery since being overrun by the militants in June.
Meanwhile, images of bullet-ridden vehicles and bodies thought to be Kurdish fighters and Syrian rebels have emerged on social media sites.
They have not been independently verified, but appear to show victims of ongoing fighting in the town of Kobani, close to the border with Turkey.
Iraq’s foreign minister is in Turkey calling for more help in the fight against ISIL. Ankara says it will help, but military action is not the only solution.
“If we claim we are fighting extremist groups without finding the cause of the extremism and the way to destroy it, then it would be self-deceiving,” said Turkey’s Foreign Minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu.
Britain also said this week it was sending more troops to train Iraqi and Kurdish fighters, and not just in Kurdish areas. It sent a small team to the city of Irbil, the capital of Iraq’s Kurdish region,last month.
Latest footage from the area shows Iraqi soldiers engaged in heavy fighting with ISIL militants.
There have been mixed reports about the fate of the town and the refinery since being overrun by the militants in June.
Meanwhile, images of bullet-ridden vehicles and bodies thought to be Kurdish fighters and Syrian rebels have emerged on social media sites.
They have not been independently verified, but appear to show victims of ongoing fighting in the town of Kobani, close to the border with Turkey.
Iraq’s foreign minister is in Turkey calling for more help in the fight against ISIL. Ankara says it will help, but military action is not the only solution.
“If we claim we are fighting extremist groups without finding the cause of the extremism and the way to destroy it, then it would be self-deceiving,” said Turkey’s Foreign Minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu.
Britain also said this week it was sending more troops to train Iraqi and Kurdish fighters, and not just in Kurdish areas. It sent a small team to the city of Irbil, the capital of Iraq’s Kurdish region,last month.