Suicide Boat Bombers Attack Key Iraqi Oil Terminal

Al-Bakra oil terminal (Reuters)

It's a busy day for the mujahedin in Iraq.

BASRA, Iraq (Reuters) - Suicide bombers launched two boat attacks on Iraq's vital Basra offshore oil terminal on Saturday, Iraqi officials said, but the British military said there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.

One boat exploded alongside a ship tied up at the terminal, said British military spokesman Major Ian Clooey.

A second boat was intercepted by a U.S.-led coalition ship as it approached an exclusion zone around the terminal and there was an explosion soon after it was boarded, he said.

Iraq is almost completely dependent on the terminal -- which is in Britain's sector of responsibility in the country -- to export around 1.9 million barrels per day, providing badly needed state funding.