IS exploits disputed areas, sets Iraqi fields on fire
A rash of farmland set on fire, allegedly by the Islamic State, threatens massive economic loss and more internally displaced persons.
MAKHMOUR, Iraq — The Iraqi Civil Defense announced May 28 that 136 fires had occurred in grain fields in the previous 18 days throughout various provinces, including 59 in Saladin, 17 in Kirkuk and 15 in Ninevah. The Islamic State took responsibility for 13 of them.
Eight fires broke out in Kirkuk province on May 25, destroying crops. In the previous week alone, some 600 dunams of land planted with wheat and barley had been set alight by the militant group.
