ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraqi port authorities announced the death of one crew member after two oil tankers were targeted in Iraq’s territorial waters, while 31 others were rescued alive. Search operations for missing crew members are ongoing.
“Two oil tankers carrying Iraqi oil were bombed and caught fire near the port of Faw,” an official with the Iraqi Maritime Authority told Rudaw.
The official said the tankers were carrying Iraqi fuel oil and had been stranded at the port since the start of the coordinated US-Israel war on Iran nearly two weeks ago.
According to preliminary investigations, the two vessels were attacked by suicide boats, though the source of the attack remains unknown. One crew member was killed in the incident, the official added.
Meanwhile, Farhan al-Fartousi of Iraq’s General Company for Ports told state television that 38 crew members have been rescued so far.
“The search continues for the missing,” Fartousi said, without specifying their nationalities or providing details on who was behind the attack.
Iraq’s government media cell told the state news agency INA that the “two tankers were subjected to sabotage.”