Iraq rocket attack at Basra site

A short-range Katyusha rocket struck the Burjesia residential and operations headquarters west of Basra in the early hours of Wednesday, according to the Iraqi military.

Three people were injured after the rocket hit an Iraqi compound housing several international oil companies, including the US multinational ExxonMobil, officials have said. The wounded are all Iraqi nationals.

“Following the news of the rocket [attack] in Basrah province […] Which caused three injuries, another rocket fell near Zubayr city [in Basrah province], there is no information about the losses,” the statement from the Iraqi security forces said on Facebook.

According to security official Mahdi Raykan, the Katyusha rocket landed at dawn in the Zubair and Rumaila oil fields camp, operated by the Iraqi Drilling company.

In a press release on Wednesday, the Iraqi Armed Forces promised to take “deterrent steps” against those behind the attack.

Not a week ago, two explosions occurred on oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman. Four oil vessels were targeted in May, also near the Strait of Hormuz — a key transit route for oil and gas from the Middle East.

Operations, including those of Shell and the Italian company Eni, were not affected by the attack, the Iraqi military has said. The price of Brent crude rose to $62.17 (£49.34) a barrel on Wednesday morning after another surge on Tuesday.

A few days ago non Tuesday, another rocket had landed near an Iraqi military base hosting US forces in the northern city of Mosul, an Iraqi military statement said.

The series of incidents take place as tensions continue to intensify between the US and Iran, with Iraq seen as a possible site for any violent flare-up between the two rivals.