Iraqi army to secure oil route to Iran

Iraqi forces, backed by the U.S.-led coalition, have launched a major operation to clear militants from a planned route that could be used to transport crude from Kirkuk’s lucrative oil fields to Iran

KUR
Mosul
Irbil
Kirkuk
Tuz Khurmatu
Tikrit 
Samarra
Tigris
IRAQ
Khanaqin
Kermanshah 
IRAN
Sulaimaniya
50km 30 miles

Possible oil route

Oilfields
——————
Detail area
Baghdad
IRAQ
300km 200 miles
——————

Feb 7: Iraqi security forces (ISF), supported by Iran- backed Popular Mobilization Units (PMF), Iraqi army and federal police, launch attack in Tuz Khurmatu district against White Flags group
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White Flags: Comprises remnants of Islamic State and Kurdish fighters displaced when ISF and PMF took over areas around Kirkuk and Tuz Khurmato in October

With Iraq unwilling to use Kurdistan Regional Government’s oil infrastructure, Baghdad has agreed to swap up to 60,000 barrels per day of crude from Kirkuk for refined Iranian oil

Source: Stratfor         © GRAPHIC NEWS