ISIS takes control of the Baiji refinery near Mosul today.
The oil refinery is the largest in Iraq.
Baiji refinery in the hands of #ISIS. Baghdad's million-strong army, built by US at a cost of $25 billion, crumbles.
http://t.co/aG7HlsxzNo
— Lalmani Tiwari (@TiwariLalmani) June 19, 2014
This video was released by Sunni rebels today.
NBC News reported:
Hours after Sunni militants attacked Iraq’s largest oil refinery Wednesday, U.S. officials told NBC News that the facility “could fall under ISIS control.”
The refinery complex outside the city of Baiji, about 130 miles north of Baghdad, would be a key prize for militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) as they push south toward the capital.
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The Iraqi government and the militants made competing claims Wednesday about the situation in Baiji.
According to the Washington, D.C.-based Institute for the Study of War, the Iraqi government said Wednesday that its forces still controlled the refinery and that 40 militants were killed in the fighting. ISIS supporters said over social media Wednesday that militants took control of the refinery, but it’s not clear if the postings are accurate, analysts told NBC News.
U.S. officials said the refinery was “under siege” and “could fall under ISIS control.”
The attack helped to push the price of oil higher on Wednesday.
