A Jihadist Group That's Too Radical For Al Qaeda Is Threatening Iraq's Water Supply

Jeremy Bender 14 minutes ago

Extremists fighters from the al Qaeda offshoot the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) are now able to control, or at least seriously damage, Iraq's water supply.

Earlier today, fighters from ISIS, which was actually expelled from Al Qaeda's global network in February, captured Mosul, the capital of northern Iraq and the country's second largest city. The entirety of the city is reported to be in ISIS's hands since government troops and police officers abandoned their posts before the offensive.

ISIS's control of Mosul places it in a prime position to launch an attack against the Mosul Dam, the largest in the country. The dam impedes the Tigris River, which, along with the Euphrates River, is the main source of water for the vast majority of Iraq's 32 million citizens.

ISIS has previously shown a desire to take control of dams as a means of inflicting strategic damage to southern and central Iraq.

In January 2014, ISIS took control of the Fallujah Dam along the Euphrates. The Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) was not able to retake control of the dam until April.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/al-qaeda-offshoot-now-effectively-controls-iraqs-water-supply-2014-6#ixzz34Fsn8FLk