Iraqis finally put out some oil fires set months ago by IS

QAYARA, Iraq (AP) — For months, residents of the Iraqi town of Qayara have lived under a dark cloud of toxic fumes released by oil well fires lit by retreating Islamic State fighters.

The move has returned a small measure of order to Qayara, where complaints about government neglect have simmered since last summer, when the militants torched the oil wells as the Iraqi army drove them out.

The work is far from complete, but it could be a first step in easing some of the bitterness, anger and social fissures among people who desperately need government services and reconciliation after waves of retaliatory violence that followed the defeat of the extremists.

Where a burning oil well once raged, children with blackened faces played war, simulating battles between militants and the Iraqi army with fake homemade guns and using rocks as grenades.

Last week, the U.N. warned that the toxic smoke, which also was coming from a nearby sulfur gas factory, will have mid- and long-term effects on the health and livelihood of residents, as well as the environment.

"People usually came to our health center seeking treatment for symptoms like fever, coughing, respiratory problems, diarrhea and asthma complications," said Dr. Tayseer Alkarim, an oncologist from the France-based group called WAHA.