With ISIS Rebels Approaching Iraq Orders It's Biggest Oil Refinery To Shut Down And All Foreign Staff To Leave

A general view of Baiji oil refinery in Baiji, 180 km (112 miles) north of Baghdad, January 21, 2009. REUTERS/Thaier al-Sudani

Iraq’s Biggest Oil Refinery Forced To Shut Down -- Irish Times

Foreign staff evacuated as militants advance into oil refinery town and surround it

Iraq’s biggest oil refinery, Baiji, has been shut down and its foreign staff evacuated, refinery officials said today, adding that local staff remain in place and the military is still in control of the facility.

Militants from al Qaeda splinter group the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (Isis), also known as the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, who seized Iraq’s second-biggest city of Mosul last week have advanced into the oil refinery town of Baiji and surrounded the refinery.

The refinery shut down overnight, the sources said.

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Update #1: Iraq's biggest oil refinery shut down, foreign staff evacuated -- Reuters
Update #2: Iraq Shuts Biggest Oil Refinery and Evacuates Foreign Staff as Isis Closes In -- Business Insider

My Comment: This is another disaster for the Iraqi government. And in the event that ISIS rebels do damage and/or destroy this facility .... Iraq's hope for becoming a major oil power will be set back for years.