Islamic State Has Captured Iraq's Biggest Dam

Reuters

Rebels Capture Iraq’s Largest Dam -- New York Times

ERBIL, Iraq — Sunni militants captured the Mosul dam, the largest in Iraq, on Thursday as their advances in the country’s north created an onslaught of refugees and set off fearful rumors in Erbil, the Kurdish regional capital.

Residents near the dam and officials in the region confirmed that the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, held the dam, a potentially catastrophic development for Iraq’s civilian population.

The dam, which sits on the Tigris River and is about 30 miles northwest of the city of Mosul, provides electricity to Mosul and controls the water supply for a large amount of territory. A report published in 2007 by the United States government, which had been involved with work on the dam, warned that should it fail, a 65-foot wave of water could be unleashed across areas of northern Iraq.

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More News On Iraq's Civil War

ISIS militants seize Iraq's largest dam -- AP
Islamic State says captured 15 Iraqi towns, Mosul dam and military base -- Reuters
ISIS Takes Mosul Dam -- Slate
Militants Take Control of Iraq's Largest Dam as Families Flee -- Bloomberg Businessweek
Islamic militants seize Iraqi dam, Christian villages -- USA Today
Iraqi Militants Capture Country's Largest Dam, as They Drive Out Religious Minorities -- The Wire
Islamic State makes more gains in northern Iraq, as Christians flee -- RT
Islamic State militants seize Iraq's largest dam -- Haaretz
Iraq Backs Kurdish Fight Against Jihadists -- WSJ
Islamic State extends gains in north Iraq, reach Kurdistan border area -- Reuters
Reuters photographs show Islamic State fighters on Kurdish border -- Reuters
Kurd Ask for Arms and Military Support to Fight Militants -- Bloomberg Businessweek
Suicide attack kills 15 people in Baghdad, Iraqi officials say -- FOX News/AP
ISIS Seizes Mosul Dam, Threatens Genocide Against the Yazidis -- PJ Media
Eyewitness describes plight of Iraq's trapped Yazidis -- BBC
Some of Iraq's Yazidis Are Rescued After Fleeing ISIS Militants -- NBC
Refugees Stranded on Sinjar Mountain During IS Attacks Rescued -- RIA Novosti
Islamic State persecution of Yazidi minority amounts to genocide, UN says -- CSM
Why Control of a Terrifying Dam in Iraq Is Life or Death for Half Million People -- Lee Ferran and Mazin Faiq, ABC News