In the late hours of March 11 two oil tankers off the coast of Iraq were hit by a booby trapped boat. One crew member was killed and several were injured. This was the second time a tanker was hit in Basra waters.
In a similar incident a drone crashed targeting the Majnoon oil field in Basra.
This is part of Iran’s strategy to attack Iraq’s oil industry in an attempt to increase pressure upon President Trump to end the war.
The Oil Ministry is in talks with the Kurdistan Regional Government to export 250,000 barrels a day of petroleum through the Kurdish-Turkish pipeline. The Ministry claims Ankara has okayed the idea and are waiting to make a deal with the Kurds.
At the same time international companies in the oil sector are pulling out their foreign workers due to Iranian attacks. British Petroleum started withdrawing its staff after two drones crashed at the Rumaila oil field in Basra. Total, Halliburton, KBR, and Schlumberger are doing the same.
This is all putting Iraq on the brink of an economic crisis because it is the most oil dependent country in the world. Al Alam reported that the government is thinking of using the Central Bank of Iraq’s foreign reserves which stand at over $100 billion to cover its bills until it can export again. It can’t directly do that however because the Central Bank Law doesn’t allow the state to directly borrow to cover its budget. The Bank would have to issue bonds or provide funds to state run banks.
Other attacks by Iran and its Resistance allies include an Iranian drone hitting the Baghdad Diplomatic Support Center at Baghdad Airport which is used by the American State Department. Five drones were shot down but the sixth one hit the center. Seven drones were downed over the logistics support center at the airport. A drone was destroyed over Irbil city. Three more were shot down in Soran with two heading for Mount Korek which has telecommunications towers and Mount Bani Haris. The Iraqi Security Forces found rockets aimed at Balad Air Base in Salahaddin in a field in Diyala.
Overall the Resistance claimed 291 operations over the 12 days of the war. It said it carried out 31 on March 11. They said this led to the death of 13 Americans and wounded dozens more. This is an exaggeration as only eight U.S. soldiers have been confirmed dead so far.
The Resistance continues to face losses as well. An Asaib Ahl Al-Haq arms depot was hit in Suwaira in Wasit. A number of fighters were wounded along with a woman being killed and her son was hit by shrapnel. The Shabak 30th Hashd Brigade was hit by two airstrikes in Ninewa. A Hashd position in Qaim, Anbar was struck killing one fighter and wounding five. Another unit was targeted by an airstrike in Mosul. The 59th Hashd Brigade which is a tribal group was struck north of Mosul by two airstrikes. A Hashd headquarters was struck by a drone in Musayib, Babil. The General Secretariat of the Hashd Special Forces was bombed leading to one death and seven injured. The U.S. and Israel appear to be widening their focus to new groups such as Tribal Hashd which had never been attacked before.
SOURCES
Al Alam, “An Economy Without Oil: Will Foreign Reserves Save Iraq?” 3/11/26
Asharq Al-Awsat, “Shrapnel from Bombing Kills Woman in Iraq,” 3/11/26
Bas News, “Airstrike Targets Hashd al-Shaabi Base Near Iraq-Syria Border: Source,” 3/11/26
Al Jazeera, “US-Israel attacks on Iran: Death toll and injuries live tracker,” 3/11/26
Kurdistan 24, "Coalition Air Defenses Intercept Multiple Drones Over Erbil and Soran,” 3/11/26
Al Mada, “Foreign Companies Quietly Leave Iraq … Questions Raise About the Future of Oil Investment,” 3/11/26
Michell, Ellen, "Drone strike hits US diplomatic facility in iraq," The Hill, 3/11/26
Rudaw, “Iraq seeking to export 250k barrels of Kirkuk oil via Kurdistan amid Hormuz disruption,” 3/11/26
Shafaq News, “8 killed and wounded in an attack targeting the Popular Mobilization Forces headquarters in Kirkuk (Update),” 3/11/26
- “Air defenses intercept 7 drones near Baghdad International Airport,” 3/11/26
- “Dismantling missiles that were intended to target Balad Air Base in Salah al-Din,” 3/11/26
- “The Iraqi resistance announces the killing of 13 Americans in nearly 300 military operations over 12 days,” 3/11/26
- “A new drone attack targeted the Majnoon oil field in Basra,” 3/11/26
- “Two airstrikes target a tribal mobilization headquarters north of Mosul (Update),” 3/11/26
- “Two tankers targeted near Basra: One killed and several wounded among the crew; attack by a booby-trapped boat (Update,” 3/11/26
- “(Video) Targeting a Popular Mobilization Forces headquarters with two airstrikes north of Babylon (Update),” 3/11/26
- “A woman was killed and her son injured in an attack targeting a Popular Mobilization Forces headquarters in Al-Suwaira (Update),” 3/11/26
Al Sumaria, “Video shows shelling targeting Popular Mobilization Forces positions in Mosul,” 3/11/26
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