Battle for Iraq refinery as U.S.

hesitates to strike
1 OF 2. Personnel from the Kurdish security forces detain a man suspected of being a militant belonging to the al Qaeda-linked Islamic
State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL in the outskirts of Kirkuk !une "#$ %ore&&&
BY GHAZWAN HASSAN-TIKRIT Iraq Thu Jun 19, 2014
(Reuters) - Iraqi government forces battled Sunni rebels for control of the country's biggest
refinery on Thursday as Prime Minister uri al-Mali!i "aited for a #$S$ res%onse to an a%%eal
for air stri!es to beat bac! the threat to &aghdad$
Secretary of State 'ohn (erry said President &arac! )bama still had *all o%tions* o%en to him
but #$S$ regional allies Tur!ey and Saudi +rabia echoed concern in ,ashington about the ris!
of #$S$ action serving only to inflame the sectarian "ar$
)bama "as meeting his national security team before ma!ing a statement on Iraq on Thursday
(-./0 &ST)$
In the meantime1 the #nited States began flying 2--3 attac! aircraft from the carrier 4eorge
5$,$ &ush on missions over Iraq to conduct surveillance of the insurgents$ The carrier "as
ordered into the 4ulf several days ago$
The s%ra"ling &ai6i refinery1 700 !m (-/0 miles) north of the ca%ital near Ti!rit1 "as a
battlefield as troo%s loyal to the Shi'ite-led government held off insurgents from the Islamic
State of Iraq and the 8evant and its allies "ho had stormed the %erimeter a day earlier1
threatening national energy su%%lies$
+ government s%o!esman said around noon (0900 4MT) that its forces "ere in *com%lete
control* but a "itness in &ai6i said fighting "as continuing and ISI8 militants "ere still
%resent$
+ day after the government %ublicly a%%ealed for #$S$ air %o"er1 there "ere indications
,ashington is sce%tical of "hether that "ould be effective1 given the ris! of civilian deaths that
could further enrage Iraq's once dominant Sunni minority$
Tur!ish Prime Minister Tayyi% :rdogan1 a +T) ally1 said the #nited States *does not vie"
such attac!s %ositively*1 given the ris! to civilians$ + Saudi source said that ,estern %o"ers
agreed "ith Riyadh1 the main Sunni state in the region1 that "hat "as needed "as %olitical
change1 not outside intervention1 to heal sectarian division that has "idened under Mali!i$
;ideo aired by +l-+rabiya television sho"ed smo!e billo"ing from the &ai6i %lant and the
blac! flag used by ISI8 flying from a building$ ,or!ers "ho had been inside the com%le<1
"hich s%reads for miles close to the Tigris river1 said Sunni militants seemed to hold most of
the com%ound in early morning and that security forces "ere concentrated around the refinery's
control room$
The 7=0-/00 remaining staff "ere evacuated early on Thursday1 one of those "or!ers said by
tele%hone$ Military helico%ters had attac!ed militant %ositions overnight1 he added$
>+PT#R:? T:RRIT)R@
&ai6i1 A0 !m (7= miles) north of Saddam 5ussein's home city of Ti!rit1 lies squarely in territory
ca%tured in the %ast "ee! by an array of armed Sunni grou%s1 s%earheaded by ISI81 "hich is
see!ing a ne" Islamic cali%hate in Iraq and Syria$ )n Tuesday1 staff shut do"n the %lant1 "hich
ma!es much of the fuel Iraqis in the north need for both trans%ort and generating electricity$
ISI81 "hich considers Iraq's Shi'ite Muslim ma6ority as heretics in league "ith neighbouring1
Shi'ite Iran1 has led a Sunni charge across northern Iraq after ca%turing the ma6or city of Mosul
last "ee! as Mali!i's #$S$-armed forces colla%sed$
The grou%'s advance has only been slo"ed by a regrou%ed military1 Shi'ite militias and other
volunteers$ The government announced on Thursday that those "ho 6oined u% to fight in *hot
areas* "ould be %aid about B-=0 a "ee!$
Sunni fighters too! the small to"n of Mutasim1 south of Samarra1 giving them the %ros%ect of
encircling the city "hich houses a ma6or Shi'ite shrine$ + local %olice source said security
forces "ithdre" "ithout a fight "hen doCens of vehicles carrying insurgents converged on
Mutasim from three directions$
ISI81 "hose leader bro!e "ith al Daeda after accusing the global 6ihadist movement of being
too cautious1 has no" secured cities and territory in Iraq and Syria1 in effect %utting it "ell on
the %ath to establishing its o"n "ell-armed enclave that ,estern countries fear could become a
centre for terrorism$
The Iraqi government made %ublic on ,ednesday its request for #$S$ air stri!es1 t"o and half
years after #$S$ forces ended the nine-year occu%ation that began by to%%ling Saddam in 700/$
+s!ed "hether ,ashington "ould accede to that a%%eal1 (erry told &> only that *nothing is
off the table*$
#$S$ R:SP)S:
Some %oliticians have urged )bama to insist that Mali!i goes as a condition for further #$S$
hel%$ +s!ed about #$S$ aid for the %rime minister1 (erry saidE *,hat the #nited States is doing
is about Iraq1 it's not about Mali!i$ othing the %resident decides to do is going to be focused
s%ecifically on Prime Minister Mali!i$ It is focused on the %eo%le of Iraq$*
5e %layed do"n the e<tent of %ossible #$S$ coo%eration "ith Iran1 the main Shi'ite %o"er1
"hich bac!s Mali!i1 saying ,ashington "anted communication on Iraq "ith its old enemy to
avoid *mista!es* but "ould not "or! closely "ith Tehran$
#$S$ officials1 s%ea!ing on condition of anonymity1 say Iraq has as!ed for drone stri!es and
increased surveillance by #$S$ drones1 "hich have been flying over Iraq$ 5o"ever1 officials
note1 targets for air stri!es could be hard to distinguish from civilians among "hom ISI8's men
"ere o%erating$
Tur!ish %remier :rdogan saidE *+merica1 "ith its current stance and the statements it has made1
does not vie" such attac!s %ositively $$$ Such an o%eration could result in a serious number of
deaths among civilians$*
The Saudi source told ReutersE *o outside interference "ill be of any benefit1* adding that
,ashington1 2rance and &ritain all agreed "ith Riyadh that *dialogue and a %olitical solution is
the "ay for"ard in Iraq*$
>om%eting "ith Iran for regional influence - a rivalry that echoes -/ centuries of Sunni-Shi'ite
strife - Saudi +rabia hit bac! angrily at an accusation this "ee! by Mali!i's government that
Riyadh "as %romoting sectarian *genocide* by su%%orting ISI8$ 2oreign Minister Saud al-
2aisal called that *ludicrous* and said Saudis "ere fighting ISI81 an al Daeda s%linter grou%$
2rom Iran1 "hich has %ledged to intervene if necessary in Iraq to %rotect Shi'ite holy %laces1 a
t"eet from an account lin!ed to Su%reme 8eader +yatollah +li (hamenei noted that ,estern
%o"ers su%%ort the mostly Sunni revolt against Syria's Iranian-bac!ed leader$ It called for
Sunnis and Shi'ites to resist efforts by the militants and the ,est to divide Muslims$
+ grou% of Islamist Sunni scholars led by the influential Datar-based cleric @oussef al-
Darada"i called on +rab and Islamic states to %rotect Iraqi Sunnis1 saying a *revolution* "as
*natural* because of the *great in6ustice* done to them$
If the &ai6i refinery falls1 ISI8 and its allies "ill have access to a large su%%ly of fuel to add to
the "ea%onry and economic resources seiCed in Mosul and across the north$
+n oil ministry official said the loss of &ai6i "ould cause shortages in the north1 including the
autonomous (urdish area1 but that the im%act on &aghdad "ould be limited - at around 70
%ercent of su%%lies - since it "as served by other refineries$
Some oil com%anies have %ulled out foreign "or!ers$
)il hit a nine-month high near B--= a barrel on concerns the fighting could limit su%%ly from
)P:>'s second-biggest %roducer$
(+dditional re%orting by Raheem Salman1 ed Par!er and )liver 5olmes in &aghdad1 Susan
5eavey in ,ashington and +mena &a!r and ,illiam Mac8ean in ?ubaiF ,riting by ed
Par!er and +lastair MacdonaldF :diting by 4iles :lgood)