Shafaq News – Nineveh

Iraqi state-run North Oil Company halted gas flaring at the Qayyarah oil field in Nineveh and opened an investigation after residents reported black smoke rising from the site.

In a brief clarification on Thursday, the firm attributed the incident to the Angolan investor Sonangol, which burned oil contaminants and associated gases, causing the emissions.

North Oil described the activity as harmful to public health and the environment, noting that the investor committed not to repeat the practice.

Iraq continues to face severe air pollution driven by landfill sites, brick factories, oil-refining and metal-smelting facilities, power plants, private generators, vehicle emissions, fuel stations, and widespread waste burning in several provinces. The World Health Organization has repeatedly classified air quality in Iraqi cities as critically poor.

Read more: The air we breathe: How pollution is quietly rewriting Iraq’s future