Armed group targets foreign oil companies in Basra

BASRA, IRAQ - A weapons cache found this week in oil-rich Basra province was to be used by an armed group targeting foreign oil companies, according to Iraqi officials and a note that accompanied the munitions.

The discovery has rattled officials as Iraq begins a revamp of its oil sector using international oil companies to skyrocket oil production to more than 12 million barrels per day. Most of the 10 oil contracts signed to the world’s largest oil companies are in Basra or surrounding provinces in the south of Iraq.