Largest water reserve in Iraq runs by a Libyan... ISIS will not detonate it for one reason
, raising fears from extremists by destroying it.
If Militants blow up the dam, the water will be life-threatening to human, animal and agricultural lands in provinces of Nineveh, Kirkuk and Salahuddin down to Baghdad across hundreds of cities, towns and villages that will be affected significantly.
According to the Iraqi Ministry of Water, ISIS terrorists will not destroy the dam for one reason; the water will sink large areas controlled by the militants, including Mosul and Salahuddin.
The militants have taken control of most of northern and western Iraq in a surprise attack last June so they are now just 100 km north of Baghdad.
Over the past week, ISIS terrorists attacked areas under the control of the Kurdish Peshmerga forces, made gains, and seized areas adjacent to the borders of Kurdistan region, including Mosul Dam.
The militants have used American tanks , type "M1 Abrams", seized from the Iraqi army in their attack on the securing forces of Mosul Dam.
A source in the Ministry of Natural Resources told “Shafaq News" that “ the dam’s manager told him that a Libyan specialist in water resources and another Iraqi had visited the dam two days before the fall of the dam under the control of ISIS.
The Libyan expert is managing the dam now in addition to the manager, who had not been attacked by ISIS.
The source ruled out the possibility that the terrorists of ISIS would blow up the dam, indicating they know the seriousness of the water stored in the dam because the Iraqi government did not reduce the levels of the dam in anticipation of an emergency.
He said that the bombing of the dam means hitting Mosul with a wave up to a height of 12 meters and flooding the city in half an hour, indicating that after 3 hours Salahuddin will sink and 12 hours after the flood would reach Baghdad.
He pointed out that most of the land that will sink is under the control of "ISIS terrorists."
Mosul Dam is one of the largest Arab dams , It represents a lifeline for millions of Iraqis, getting what they need from water and electricity.
The construction of the dam had been completed in 1984, named at the beginning of the name of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.
The dam is located fifty kilometers to the north-west of Mosul city, it was built to collect rainwater and melting snow on the heights of the mountains of Turkey.
Mosul Dam is the fourth-largest reservoir in the Arab world, with a capacity of about eight billion cubic meters, a maximum storage capacity of approximately 11 billion and produces about 750 megawatts of electricity.
The adviser of Agriculture and Water Committee in Parliament, Adel al-Mukhtar has warned from the cessation of maintenance of the dam.
He told “Shafaq News" that there is daily maintenance carried out at a rate of 24 hours on the dam by 27 injectors that block concrete cracks and tunnels that occurs as a result of the melting water to gypsum land, in which the dam is held on it. He pointed out that cracks are gnawing the body of the dam.
He pointed out that three days ago, injections operations are stopped which will be a problem in the absence of the resumption on reform work.
In another sign that the militants are not planning to blow up the dam, witnesses said that ISIS extremists brought in engineers to repair the dam.
Reuters news agency quoted an engineer who works in Mosul Dam that ISIS militants brought engineers to repair the power line of emergency for the city.
The power line was cut off four days ago, which led to power cuts and water shortages.
The engineer said, "They are bringing people to work at the dam."
One of the supervisors on the management of the dam said that militants raised black flags of ISIS organization , patrolling and monitoring the transfer of vehicles carrying machine guns.
Although actions of Islamic extremists cannot be predicted if their presence in the region was exposed to danger and the possibility that they may bargain on the dam’s paper in the coming days.
