Rockets Land near Industry District, US Oil Service Company in Iraq’s Basra

Arab World

April 6th, 10:02am

Asharq Al-Awsat

An Oil Ministry sign is seen at the Zubair oilfield after a rocket struck residential and operations headquarters of several oil firms in Burjesia, Basra, Iraq, June 2019. (Reuters)

Three rockets landed on Monday near US oil service company Halliburton's site in Basra in southern Iraq, without causing casualties, the Iraqi military said in a statement. A launcher with 11 unfired rockets was found nearby and was dismantled by security forces, according to the statement, reported Reuters. Earlier, rockets landed near a district that houses foreign workers in Iraq's oil industry but caused no damage or casualties, oil and police sources said. Police said the three Katyusha rockets, launched at around 3 am local time, hit the Burjesia residential and operations headquarters west of Basra. The district houses foreign oil workers and offices of both foreign and Iraqi oil companies, but has been largely empty in recent weeks because of the evacuation of nearly all foreign personnel due to the coronavirus crisis. Two officials with state-run Basra Oil Co. (BOC), which oversees oil operation in the south, said the attack had not affected production and export operations. Police sources said they found a rocket launcher and some unused rockets in a nearby farmland area. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the rocket attack and police said they deployed additional forces to carry out search operation in the area.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2219346/rockets-land-near-industry-district-us-oil-service-company-iraq%E2%80%99s-basra