Baiji’s oil refinery could be destroyed during battle to save it

(IraqiNews.com) Salahuddin – On Thursday, Reuters reported that ISIS militants have dug trenches around gas tanks at Baiji’s oil refinery, raising the stakes in a battle where the price of victory may be the refinery itself and the Iraqi forces that are trapped inside it.

Reuters reported that 200 Iraqi security elements are trapped inside the refinery. A police source was quoted by Reuters as saying, “They have dug trenches near the hydrogen and natural gas tanks. The warplanes can not hit them because it is very dangerous and we could get killed too.”

Another source said, “They are maintaining their momentum just like Kobani; they keep throwing people at the refinery. The only difference is that Kobani is a city and Baiji is an industrial facility, and it’s difficult to manage a fight inside an area that is surrounded 360 degrees.”