Islamic State militants use water as weapon in western Iraq. ISIS closes Iraq dam gates, sparking humanitarian fears

Islamic State militants have closed gates of a dam on the Euphrates River in western Iraq, reducing the water and giving them greater freedom of movement to attack government forces downstream on the southern bank, local officials said.

The militants have redirected the flow of water to their advantage on the battlefield around the city of Ramadi. But the tactic also threatens southern provinces with drought and the water has been reduced to worrying levels, the officials said.

The Euphrates has acted as a barrier between the militants who control its northern bank and pro-government forces who are are trying to advance towards Ramadi on the other side.

A spokesman for the governor of Anbar province, of which Ramadi is the capital, said security forces would now have to redeploy along the river to prevent the insurgents from infiltrating.

"Previously they had to monitor only the bridges and certain areas, but now all of the river will be crossable," Hikmat Suleiman said.

Islamic State has previously sought to use water as a weapon in its war against the Iraqi government...Reuters........http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/world/islamic-state-militants-u/1890762.html
3/6/15
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• ISIS/ISIL expansion result of US invasion of Iraq (experts)

• Iraqi PM complains of insufficient int'l support to halt ISIS/ISIL

• Iraq lost 2,300 Humvee armoured vehicles in Mosul (PM)

• ISIS closes Iraq dam gates, sparking humanitarian fears (reducing water flow to areas controlled by the Iraqi security forces)

 Islamic State group jihadists have closed the gates of a dam in the Iraqi city of Ramadi which they seized last month, posing a humanitarian and security threat, officials said Tuesday.

IS fighters have repeatedly attempted to control dams in Iraq, in some cases reducing the flow of water to areas under government control or flooding swathes of land to impede military operations.

Anbar provincial council chief Sabah Karhout said IS "closed all the gates" at a dam in Ramadi, capital of Iraq's largest province.

The move lowered the level of the Euphrates River and cut water supplies to the areas of Khaldiyah and Habbaniyah to the east, which are some of the last held by pro-government forces in Anbar.

The lower water level has also made it easier for IS to carry out attacks, Karhout said.

• He called for the dam to either be quickly retaken or targeted in an air strike.

"Cutting the water to Khaldiyah and Habbaniyah will lead to a major humanitarian crisis not only in these areas" but also farther south, said Sheikh Rafa al-Fahdawi, a leader in the Albu Fahad tribe, which is fighting against IS.

Aoun Dhiyab, a former head of the Iraqi water resources department and an expert in water issues, said "the goal of (IS) is not to cut the water, but to reduce the level, to take advantage of it for military purposes."

"When the water level is reduced, it allows them to infiltrate from Ramadi to Khaldiyah and then easily move to other areas," he said.

Iraqi forces have launched a counteroffensive to try to recapture Ramadi but have so far either stopped on the city's outskirts or focused efforts on severing jihadist supply lines.
  AFP
  TV100F.COM
  2/6/15