Extremists In Iraq Now Control The Country's Rivers -- New Scientist
Iraq has blazed its way back onto the world's front pages in the past 48 hours, with the seemingly sudden capture of the cities of Mosul and Tikrit by an extremist group. The group seems to be targeting the region's rivers: its main geostrategic vulnerability. It now controls the upper reaches of both the Tigris and Euphrates in Iraq.
The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) considers itself the true government of a region stretching from Israel to Iraq. It has been among the rebels fighting Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, and controls the territory in eastern Syria around Deir al-Zour.
Despite the apparent suddenness, ISIS's assault on Iraq has been brewing for six months. Last January, ISIS started fighting its way from Syria down the Euphrates river into Iraq. In May it captured the town of Fallujah, the scene of bloody fighting during the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq. This week, ISIS captured Iraq's second-largest city Mosul, on the Tigris river, then advanced down the Tigris to the town of Tikrit, and beyond it to the Shiite holy town of Samarra. Both Samarra and Fallujah are within striking distance of the capital Baghdad.
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My Comment: If Iraq loses the Baiji oil refinery (110kn north of Baghdad) .... the electrical grid for Baghdad will then be threatened. Throw in the threat of ISIS now being able to cut off the water supplies to millions of Iraqis .... forget about electricity .... the survival of millions of Iraqis will then be at stake ... and all of this happening in the middle of summer.
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