Militants Launch Deadly Attack on Iraqi Gas Facility, Oil Field

Smoke rises after an attack at Bai Hassan oil station, northwest of Kirkuk, Iraq, July 31, 2016.

Iraqi officials say militants have launched two attacks on energy facilities in northern Iraq, killing at least five people.

Both assaults Sunday took place in inside Kurdish-controlled areas of Kirkuk province.

Authorities say in the first attack about 15 kilometer northwest of Kirkuk, gunmen shot dead four of the gas facility's employees and planted explosive devices around the building.

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Attack on Iraq Oil Facilities


In the second attack at the nearby Bai Hassan oil field, the insurgents, wearing suicide vests, killed an engineer and wounded at least six other people. The militants also sparked a major fire.

At least three of the four assailants were killed in the chaos. It was not immediately clear whether they detonated their vests or were killed by security forces.