A drone struck a ship off the port in Iraq's southern province of Basra on Thursday, However, no fire or damage to the vessel has occurred. Anadolu Agency
This is the latest drone-related incident in Iraq, coming against the backdrop of renewed military escalation between the United States and Iran, Iraq's main allies.
A security official told AFP that a drone struck a ship "carrying American-branded cars" near an oil terminal after it had arrived from the United Arab Emirates.
Iraq's oil ministry said that "the incident involved a tanker reporting a sighting of a foreign object in its vicinity. However, no fire or damage to the vessel has occurred."
The ministry added that "loading operations are continuing as normal," without mentioning the cargo ship with cars onboard.
On Wednesday evening, the US-led anti-jihadist coalition shot down eight explosive-laden drones over Erbil, the capital of Iraq's northern Kurdistan region.
AFP journalists reported seeing several drones over Erbil. The drones were then hit by air defences near the US consulate, they said, which was a target of repeated drone and rocket attacks launched by pro-Iran armed groups during the Middle East war.
No group has claimed responsibility for Wednesday's attacks.
The US embassy in Baghdad warned Thursday that "following Iran-enabled drone attacks in Erbil... US citizens in Iraq are advised to maintain heightened readiness."
The mission reminded US nationals of its travel advisory to avoid all travel to Iraq "for any reason".
The attacks coincided with Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi's one-week visit to Washington, where he met President Donald Trump.
Zaidi denounced the drone attacks, and said his government "will not tolerate these malicious attempts, which seek in vain to undermine the stability of our people."
He directed security forces to "take all necessary measures to prevent the recurrence of such attacks."
During the Middle East war, the Kurdistan region, which hosts US troops and foreign oil companies, was a primary target for drone attacks, carried out mostly by pro-Iran Iraqi armed groups.
Zaidi has given those groups, which Washington designates as terrorist organisations, until September 30 to disarm, coinciding with the end of the US-led coalition's mission.
While some armed groups have said they would cooperate, others remain firm in their refusal to disarm.
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