Kurdish security forces deployed at the North Oil Company briefly halted the oil flow to pressure Baghdad into starting construction on a planned refinery, according to Asso Mamand, an official in the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (P.U.K.) party who sponsors these forces.
A sinkhole near Athba is known to contain the bodies of perhaps thousands of victims of the Islamic State militants. Between 3,000 and 5,000 people are believed dumped in this mass grave. The extent of the bloodletting has only been guessed at since its discovery in recent weeks. What is known is that ISIS/Daesh has booby-trapped the grave, so its excavation will not take place any time soon.
At least 31,000 people have fled western Mosul since February 19; 7,000 of them escaped in the last 24 hours alone.
At least 36 were killed and 11 more were wounded or sickened:
Gunmen at a Madaen checkpoint killed a soldier and wounded two more.
Two civilians were executed in Anah.
A bomb in Yusufiya killed one person and wounded four more.
A bomb killed a Peshmerga member and wounded several more near Hawija. Although the personnel are connected to oil security, they were not involved in the events at the North Oil Company.
In Mosul, a chemical attack was reported; at least three people were sickened enough to be transferred for medical care. An airstrike killed three militants. Eleven militants were killed in Dawasa.
Two civilians were wounded in a bombing in Baghdad.
Seven militants were killed in Metabijh.
Seven more were killed in the Hamrin Hills.
Clashes in Wadi Hajar left a militant mosque official, his son, and an aide dead.
