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Gunmen kill senior oil official in Iraq’s Kirkuk

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack on Iraq’s state-run North Oil Company's chief of operations, Saad Al Karbalaie.

Baghdad - Gunmen shot dead a senior oil official working for Iraq’s state-run North Oil Company (NOC) on Sunday, police and company officials said.

NOC’s chief of operations, Saad Al Karbalaie, was killed in the northern oil city of Kirkuk after gunmen forced him to stop his vehicle as he was leaving his office and then shot him, police sources said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack on Karbalaie, who was supervising production and export facilities in Kirkuk.

Major oil producer and Opec member Iraq faces security challenges from Daesh which controls a third of the country, and a sectarian conflict exacerbated by the group’s presence.

Baiji refinery, north of Baghdad, is a focal point for government efforts to slow the advance of Daesh. The complex has changed hands several times in months of fighting.