This Photo Does Not Depict Haifa Oil Refineries Recently Targeted by Iraqi Factions
The Claim
Haifa's occupied oil refineries are burning.
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Recently, a photo went viral on social media platform X, purportedly showing a fire breaking out at the oil refineries in Haifa. The image suggests that these refineries were targeted by Iraqi factions in the early hours of Saturday, April 6.
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar investigated the circulating claim and found it to be misleading. The photo in question is outdated and does not depict a recent fire at Haifa's oil refineries following an alleged targeting by Iraqi factions on Saturday morning.
The 2003 American Bombing of Baghdad
The circulated image depicts a fire ignited by American airstrikes on the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, following the start of the American invasion of Iraq in March 2003.
The U.S.-Led Invasion of Iraq in 2003
On March 20, 2003, the United States and its allies invaded Iraq under the pretext of Iraq possessing weapons of mass destruction, a claim that was never substantiated. Baghdad was heavily targeted by airstrikes focused on government-held areas, resulting in casualties and significant damage to infrastructure.
The war led to the downfall of the late President Saddam Hussein's regime, who was subsequently tried and executed. Around half a million people lost their lives, millions were displaced from their homes, and a considerable number of civilians suffered violations by all parties engaged in the conflict, as stated in a Human Rights Watch report released 20 years after the war.
In 2011, U.S. troops withdrew from Iraq, but prior to that, the country had been embroiled in a sectarian war, exacerbating divisions and fueling violence.
Iraqi Factions Announce Bombing of Haifa Refineries
The claim surfaces following the announcement by Iraqi factions of their drone strikes targeting the oil refineries in Haifa, located in the occupied Palestinian territories, during the early hours of this past Saturday.
In their statement, the factions said that the attack came "in response to the Zionist massacres against defenseless Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip." Furthermore, they pledged to continue “targeting the enemy's strongholds.”
Iraqi factions had previously claimed responsibility for dozens of operations targeting Israeli sites, in addition to locations associated with U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria, since the onset of the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip on October 7.
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