(Previous Incident Code: ISIRQ260404a )

On Saturday, April 4, 2026, up to five Iraqi workers were injured when two drones allegedly belonging to local Iranian-backed militias hit the facilities of the U.S. technology and energy company, Baker Hughes, located in the Rumalia oil field in Zubair district, west of Basra, in southern Iraq. Additionally, a Burjesia oil field was hit with two drones, leading to fire in a chemical storage facility, but no civilian harm was reported in that incident.

Reuters was the earliest source found by researchers to have reported on this incident, at 8:16 a.m. Iraqi time, meaning the attack happened before this time.

Reuters reported the injury of three workers as a result of the attack. According to two Iraqi engineers working at the field who spoke to Reuters, two drones struck an equipment storage facility, and the work of the company was not disrupted. Facebook account ‘Al-Mirbad’ claimed four injuries, citing a private security source. ‘Breaking News’ also reported this figure, claiming that a drone belonging to armed groups crashed into a warehouse, injuring four workers. Facebook user Omar Al-Azawy reported even a higher injury toll of five, but this information was not corroborated by other sources.

Facebook user Stambouli Zied shared additional details of the strike, writing that one drone had crashed into a warehouse belonging to the American company Baker Hughes, which was leased to an Iraqi company and contained maintenance equipment. According to this source, the strike resulted in injuries to four Iraqi workers, in addition to material damage. The post also included a series of images, showing firefighters battling a huge blaze.

Another Facebook account called ‘Ministry of Electricity and its companies’ reported that firefighters were battling a large blaze that broke out in logistics warehouses inside the Rumaila oil site after it had been struck. The post included a video showing a large group of firefighters trying to extinguish the fire with water.

An attack on the Burjesia oil field that happened the same day and caused a fire in a chemical storage facility, but no civilian casualties were reported, according to Stambouli Zied. Dr. Ali Alkaissi reported on Facebook that “Iraqi factions loyal to Iran” targeted the North Rumaila and Burjesia oil fields in Basra, in a double attack with four drones.

Where sources identified a belligerent, two local sources attributed the strike to “armed groups” and “Iraqi factions loyal to Iran.” Echoing these allegations, the US-based think tank Critical Threats wrote that the attack had been likely carried out by Iranian-backed militias.

In a statement on Telegram channel posted on the evening the same day, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq – Ashab al-Kahf blamed Kuwait and the Kurdistan Regional Government for the attacks on Iraqi energy infrastructure: “We also affirm that the targeting of oil fields in Iraq is being carried out from the State of Kuwait and from the provinces of northern Iraq.” However, this accusation was not repeated by any local sources. Therefore, this incident has been graded as a “likely strike” until further information is found.