Foreign Affairs

ISIS Claims Rocket Attack On Oil Refinery In Iraq, No Injuries Reported

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The Islamic State claims responsibility for a rocket attack on an oil refinery in Iraq on Sunday, Reuters reported.

The attack caused the Siniya refinery to shut down after the explosion ignited a fire at a fuel storage tank that spread to a network of pipelines nearby, officials said, Reuters reported.

ISIS said that two Katyusha rockets were deployed and claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement released through the terrorist organization’s official channel, according to Reuters. The group did not say whether anyone was injured in the attack.

“We completely shut down production units to avoid extensive damage that could result,” a chief engineer at the Siniya refinery said, Reuters reported.

A Katyusha rocket hit a fuel storage depot in Siniya refinery, a facility in Iraq’s Salahuddin province. The attack caused a fire but did not lead to any casualties. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack pic.twitter.com/HPgltcO30h

— Kurdistan 24 English (@K24English) November 29, 2020

A spokesperson for the Northern Refineries Co., a state-run manager of multiple Iraqi refineries, told the state-run Iraqi news agency that two rockets hit the refinery, Reuters reported.

“Sabereen News”: ISIS is attempting to “make international headlines” with its latest rocket attack targeting an oil refinery in northern Iraq: “There is a big difference between killing a soldier and targeting an oil refinery. We are facing a dangerous and advanced stage.”

— Evan Kohlmann (@IntelTweet) November 30, 2020

Production was shut down as a preventative safety measure, officials said, Reuters reported. The refinery produces up to 30,000 barrels of oil per day.

Normal operations were expected to resume within “the next few hours after assessing the damage,” Deputy Oil Minister Hamid Younis said in a statement, Reuters reported.

No injuries were reported, according to Reuters.