Rocket attack on Iraqi oil facility injures 3

June 19 (UPI) -- A rocket attack on oil facilities in Basra, Iraq, early Wednesday injured three workers, marking a continued escalation of incidents connected with the Middle East oil industry as tensions between the United States and Iran remain high.

The short-range missile attack focused on a complex used by several major oil companies, including U.S.-based ExxonMobil. Last Thursday, oil tankers were attacked in the Gulf of Oman in an attempt to disable the ships. The U.S. blamed that incident on Iran and responded Monday by sending 1,000 additional troops to the region.

Last month, the U.S. State Department ordered all non-emergency personnel from its embassy in Iraq as a result of rising tensions in the region.

ExxonMobil likewise had moved its foreign staff out of Basra's West Qurna 1 oilfield in May. One official told Kurdish media outlet Rudaw that Wednesday's missile attack targeted ExxonMobil administrative offices.

Mosul Mayor Zuhair Araji said the Nineveh Operations Command on the eastern bank of the city came under attack by short-range rockets hours before the Kurdish oilfield attack.

"A Katyusha rocket at that was fired at 10:35 p.m.on the west bank of Mosul nearby Tal Afar terminal landed just outside the Nineveh Operations Command compound," he said.

So far, no one has claimed responsibility for the attacks.