WASHINGTON — A fire at one of Iraq’s oil fields could hinder military and humanitarian efforts as operations to capture the Islamic State stronghold of Mosul get underway.

Black smoke continues to billow into the air from the Qayara oil field, where Islamic State militants set fire to 11 oil wells to derail security forces and wreak havoc in the area as they fled the area last month. Qayara has since become an important staging ground for military and humanitarian efforts ahead of the Mosul operation.

‘‘It does cause some problems. It certainly doesn’t stop anything,’’ said Colonel John Dorrian, a spokesman for the US-led military coalition in Baghdad.

Associated Press