Iraq says port operations continue after drone falls on tanker

Iraq’s ports authority said Thursday that a drone fell on a tanker outside Iraqi port limits, adding that unloading and cargo-handling operations were continuing without interruption, the Iraqi News Agency (INA) said.

The authority said port operations remained normal and that there had been no suspension of activity, INA added.

Separately, Iraq’s Oil Ministry said that crude oil loading operations from the country’s southern ports were continuing and that there had been “no stoppage,” according to the agency.

The ministry said it is investigating the fall of an unidentified object on one of the tankers, INA added.

No further details were immediately provided on the tanker, the location of the incident or whether any damage or casualties were reported.

The incident came shortly after some Iraqi media outlets reported that an unidentified drone struck a commercial cargo ship docked at Basra port in far southern Iraq, without causing an explosion.

In a related security development, the Counter-Terrorism Directorate in Iraq’s northern Kurdish region said late Wednesday that international coalition forces had downed eight unidentified drones over Erbil province, with no casualties reported.

The incidents coincide with renewed military escalation between the US and Iran, and with an increase in the use of unidentified drones to monitor and target vital routes and Gulf waters.

They also come as the government of Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zeidi carries out security and diplomatic efforts to control weapons and place security responsibility exclusively under state authority.