Gas facility
Al-Mishraq sulfur plant — deliberate fire (ISIS)
20 October 2016
Al-Mishraq, near Mosul, Nineveh Governorate, Iraq
What happened
As the battle of Mosul intensified, Islamic State fighters set fire to the Al-Mishraq sulfur production complex, releasing an estimated 161 kilotonnes of sulfur dioxide over about a week — comparable to a minor volcanic eruption and tracked by multiple satellites (MetOp-A/B, Aura, Suomi NPP). Two civilians died and nearly 1,000 people were treated for toxic gas inhalation from the sulfur dioxide and hydrogen sulphide plume.
- Evidence
- Documented
- Confidence
- High
- Infrastructure
- Gas facility
- Latitude
- 36.3300°
- Longitude
- 43.4000°
Attribution
Attributed to Islamic State (ISIS)