A terrorism expert last night called for foreign groups in Iraq to be able to better defend themselves.
David Capitanchick, former honorary professor at the Robert Gordon University, said workers were becoming an “easy target” for resentful locals as the majority did not have enough military security.
He said: “Local groups have become more hostile and resentful as they see foreign workers coming in and making money from what they see as their oil.
“There has been a lot more trouble there recently, especially with it being the 10th anniversary of the Iraq War. If you are part of a foreign group there you are likely to suffer just now as a part of this. They have become more hostile to all sorts of different groups.”
Prof Capitanchick said the storming of the rig in Kurdistan was “of serious concern” and raised questions about why workers were not able to adequately defend themselves.
“It makes security for foreign workers even more important, despite what it might look like to locals. What they don’t have is any sort of military superiority to defend themselves and that is what they need if they are to survive at all. The local community is simply not scared if these people don’t have any kind of defence at all.”
He added: “The locals are seeing a great advantage in gaining whatever kind of upper hand they can from the situation, especially with the workers being unarmed and unable to defend themselves.
“This means they are seen by locals as an easy target and it is an opportunity for them to gain something from the situation in whatever way they can. They want to gain more from the things that foreign groups are making money out of.”