World

Missile blast ignites Iraqi oil fire

By AAP Newswire

May 2, 2022

Workers at an oil refinery in Iraq. — An oil refinery in Iraq's Kurdistan region has been targeted by missile strikes. -AP

A missile attack has targeted an oil refinery in Iraq's northern city of Erbil, causing a fire in one of its main tanks that was later brought under control.

Hold tight - we’re checking permissions before loading more content

A missile also landed in the outer fence of the refinery without causing any casualties, the Iraqi security forces said in a statement.

Earlier on Sunday, anti-terrorism authorities in the Kurdistan region said six missiles landed near the KAR refinery in Erbil, adding they were launched from Nineveh province.

Security forces said they found a launch pad and four missiles in the Nineveh Plain after the attack and defused them.

Three missiles also fell near the refinery on April 6, without causing any casualties.

Sources in the Kurdistan Regional Government told Reuters then that the refinery is owned by Iraqi Kurdish businessman Baz Karim Barzanji, CEO of major domestic energy company the KAR Group.

In March, Iran attacked Erbil with a dozen ballistic missiles in an unprecedented assault on the capital of the autonomous Iraqi Kurdish region that appeared to target the United States and its allies.

Only one person was hurt in that attack.

By AAP Newswire

Australian Associated Press