ISIL
Insurgents Deep Into Compound
Iraqi
forces besieged inside the country’s largest oil refinery are running low on
food and ammunition and are pleading for reinforcement to save them from
Islamic State insurgents who have advanced deep into the compound in the past
week, Reuters reported on Monday.
They hold large sections of the sprawling refinery complex where some 200 elite
special forces, soldiers and federal police are holding out.
“We are
surrounded by Daesh (ISIL) from all sides… We can hear Daesh fighters shouting
and threatening to behead anyone they catch. We are running short of
ammunition, food and drinking water. We eat only one meal a day. We tear our
uniforms to bandage other solders’ and policemen’s wound,” said Mohanad, a
policeman speaking via telephone from the refinery where his unit has taken up
defensive positions inside the complex. (Reuters, 4 May)
The
refinery has been for all practical purposes destroyed during the fighting, but
remains one of the most fiercely contested spots in Iraq. The Iraqi security
forces are as fiercely battling ISIL nearby to secure a highway leading to the
refinery to send reinforcement and supplies.
On 18
April, Iraqi officials said they were fully in control of the compound, but the
insurgents have since gained ground and capture large portions of the complex.
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