In this file photo, an Iraqi man stands in a field in the Mishkhab region, 25 kilometres from Najaf, on July 2, 2018. AFP
In this file photo, an Iraqi man stands in a field in the Mishkhab region, 25 kilometres from Najaf, on July 2, 2018. AFP
In this file photo, an Iraqi man stands in a field in the Mishkhab region, 25 kilometres from Najaf, on July 2, 2018. AFP
In this file photo, an Iraqi man stands in a field in the Mishkhab region, 25 kilometres from Najaf, on July 2, 2018. AFP

Iraq accuses ISIS of setting fire to hundreds of acres of farmland


Mina Aldroubi
  • English
  • Arabic

Iraq’s Ministry of Commerce accused ISIS on Sunday of destroying hundreds of agricultural fields across the country, raising fears that the extremist group is stepping up activity.

The group allegedly set fire to 500 acres of wheat and barley farms in the eastern province of Diyala on Saturday and destroyed further further fields in the northern province of Nineveh.

Local media reported that the burning of fields was part of an extortion racket in which ISIS members demanded money from farmers.

"We call for the urgent protection and security of civilians and their land," the trade and interior ministries said in a statement.

The ministries called on security forces in Nineveh to intervene to prevent such attacks from occurring in the near future.

Since its rise in 2014, ISIS has sabotaged hundreds of wells, destroyed orchards, and stolen machinery and livestock, Human Rights Watch reported last December.

An Iraqi member of parliament Raad Dahlaki urged the government to compensate farmers for their loss.

Earlier this month, ISIS fighters carried out several attacks in western Mosul, according to security officials. The insurgents burned down several houses in the village of Ibrahimia, west of Mosul, that caused dozens of families to flee.

An unidentified group of armed men shot dead five members of an Iraqi family in an attack on their house in southern Mosul on 5 May.

Security officials said that ISIS fighters were involved in the attack on a house of a village community supervisor in the Hammam Al Alil area, according to a statement by the interior ministry.

Although there was no immediate claim of responsibility, ISIS fighters are active in that area.

In a separate incident, gunmen attacked a grain silo in the northern Iraqi town of Shirqat last Thursday, killing a guard and setting fire to a vehicle.

It comes as Iraqi forces launched a new security operation on Saturday to hunt down remaining ISIS sleeper cells near the Syrian border.

Iraqi forces recently cleared 10 villages in the district of Al Baaj, west of Mosul, Major General Najem Al Jubouri said.

The official said that military operations will continue until areas in the Nineveh province and the Syrian border are secure.

At its height in 2014 and 2015, ISIS ruled over a self-proclaimed "caliphate" that spanned one third of Iraq and Syria and attracted followers from all over the world.

Although Iraq declared victory over the terrorists in December 2017, the group continues to carry out attacks across the country.

An unknown number of ISIS supporters remain at large in both Syria and Iraq.

Electric scooters: some rules to remember
  • Riders must be 14-years-old or over
  • Wear a protective helmet
  • Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
  • Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
  • Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
  • Do not drive outside designated lanes
Green ambitions
  • Trees: 1,500 to be planted, replacing 300 felled ones, with veteran oaks protected
  • Lake: Brown's centrepiece to be cleaned of silt that makes it as shallow as 2.5cm
  • Biodiversity: Bat cave to be added and habitats designed for kingfishers and little grebes
  • Flood risk: Longer grass, deeper lake, restored ponds and absorbent paths all meant to siphon off water 

21 Lessons for the 21st Century

Yuval Noah Harari, Jonathan Cape