Flames seen at Iraqi oil centre

Orange flames could be seen today on the northern horizon in the direction of the Iraqi oil centre Basra, witnesses on the Kuwaiti border said.

In Kuwait, US military officers with the 1st Marine Division said three oil wells “have been torched” in southern Iraq but gave no further details.

The witnesses, about eight miles south of the border on the Kuwaiti side, said the flames were seen after a series of explosions which shook buildings in the area.

The Arab satellite television channel Al-Arabiya reported that fires had erupted in Iraq’s al-Rumeila field in the Basra area.