Home > ’Rebels’ attack Iraq oil compound
Insurgents have broken into the headquarters of an Iraqi oil company in the southern city of Basra and set fire to warehouses and offices, reports say.
"It was not an accident. The fire is huge," a South Oil Company official told Reuters news agency.
Militants loyal to the cleric Moqtada Sadr had threatened to sabotage oil infrastructure in protest against the continuing clashes in Najaf.
About 90% of Iraq’s oil exports go through Basra.
It is unclear how they might be affected by the attack.
There have been dozens of small attacks on Iraq’s pipelines and its oil infrastructure, leading to a reduction in exports over the past two months.
Interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi has said that the fighting in Najaf has cost the country $160m in lost oil exports.
Oil Minister Thamer al-Ghadhban said sabotage attacks had cost Iraq $2.7bn since the start the US-led invasion , Reuters reported.