Eight captured in security operation in the aftermath of the attack on Chinese oil company in Dhi Qar; source says

Shafaq News/ Iraqi security forces launched a large-scale security operation in Dhi Qar in the aftermath of the attack on the Chinese "ZPEC" company operating in al-Gharraf oilfield in the north of the governorate.

A security source told Shafaq News Agency that the security forces has already apprehended eight persons suspected to be involved in the armed attack on the oil companies in al-Rifai district.

Dhi Qar's governor and the head of the head of the govenorate's supreme security committee, Mohammad Hadi al-Ghazzi, confirmed that the security forces identified and captured the "criminal group" that attacked a company operating in one of the governorate's oilfields.

"Any attack on one of the foreign companies operating in Dhi Qar will not go for granted," he said.

Yesterday, Tuesday, a group of armed persons attacked ZPEC, a chinese company operating in al-Gharraf oilfield.

"The attack resulted in damaging the outer fence of the compound," a source said.

"The attackers managed to escape as a security force rushed to the site and established a cordon. The security force found anu unexploded rocket near the site," the source added.

Another source attributed the recent attack to a conflict of interests between several parties vying to invest in the oilfield.