Iraqi Military: 3 Rockets Target US Oil Company in South
At least three rockets hit near the site of an
American oil field service company in southern Iraq early on Monday, Iraq's
military said, the first such attack in recent months to target U.S. energy
interests in Iraq.
The rockets targeted the site of Halliburton in the
Burjesia area in the oil-rich Basra province, the military statement said. Two
Iraqi security officials and one official at the state-run Basra Oil Company
said five rockets at struck the area. The officials spoke on condition of
anonymity in line with regulations.
A rocket launcher was subsequently found on the
Zubair-Shuaiba road by security forces, according to the statement, with 11
unused missiles that were later defused.
No militant group immediately claimed responsibility
for the rocket fire. There was no significant damage, the military said, adding
that Iraqi security forces in Basra are searching for the perpetrators of the
attack.
Halliburton is an American oil service provider
working in the Zubair oil field, which is operated by the Italian ENI.
Monday's attack was the first since last summer to
target U.S. oil companies working in the oil-rich south. A rocket struck a
oil-drilling site in Basra last June, landing inside a compound housing energy
giant Exxon Mobil, Shell and ENI. Three local workers were wounded in that
attack.
