Iraqi Oil Refinery Hit by ISIS Rockets

ISIS has claimed responsibility for a Sunday night rocket attack on an oil facility in northern Iraq, which led to a large fire and the temporary closure of the site. A statement posted to the organization’s website said it fired the two Katyusha rockets that hit the Siniya oil refinery, causing damage to storage tanks and pipelines, and igniting the blaze. No casualties were reported in the incident. A spokesman for the state-run refinery affirmed the attack and claimed the flames were under control, adding that shutting down the facility was a precautionary measure to prevent further damage. Iraq’s Deputy Oil Minister Hamid Younis promised operations were expected to resume in “the next few hours, after assessing the damage.” While severely weakened over the past few years and being nearly wiped out from its Iraqi and Syrian strongholds, ISIS has still demonstrated the capability of launching small-scale attacks on government facilities.