Iranian oil depot hit by rocket - report

An oil refinery depot in southwestern Iran close to the border with Iraq was hit by a rocket this evening, and two people were…

An oil refinery depot in southwestern Iran close to the border with Iraq was hit by a rocket this evening, and two people were injured, Iranian government sources told news agencies.

They said it was not clear where the rocket, which hit the depot in the city of Abadan at around 7.45 p.m. (1615 GMT), had come from.

Abadan is about 50 km east of the southern Iraqi city of Basra, and on the opposite side of the Shatt al-Arab estuary from Iraq's Faw peninsula.

The Faw peninsular was secured earlier by US-led forces advancing into Iraq from Kuwait as part of a land attack against Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's regime.

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Heavy bombing by US and British forces during that attack earlier shattered windows and caused villagers to flee in panic across the border in Iran, according to the official IRNA news agency.

Iran, which fought an eight-year war with Iraq in the 1980s in which hundreds of thousands were killed on both sides, has condemned the US-led attack on its western neighbour, but vowed not to be drawn into the conflict.