"Mortar shells crashed into an Iraqi prison at a major government complex Monday, landing in a cellblock and killing at least five inmates. Elsewhere, an explosive fire erupted in a storage tank at Baghdad's only oil refinery, sending smoke and flames high above the capital.
The U.S. military said an "industrial accident" caused the fire at the Dora refinery in Baghdad. But the chief Iraqi military spokesman, Brig. Qassim al-Moussawi, told The Associated Press that a rocket struck a storage tank, triggering the blaze.
The attack on the prison was part of an increase in violent incidents throughout the city over the past few days, which have included mortar or rocket fire on the U.S.-controlled Green Zone.Iraqi police and hospital officials said seven inmates were killed and 23 wounded. A hospital official said the inmates were sleeping when the shells struck. A roadside bombing targeting a police patrol in eastern Baghdad killed one policeman and wounded five other people on Monday.
The fire at the Dora facility, one of Iraq's three major refineries, raged for hours, sending a huge column of black smoke over the city. The refinery had already been operating at half capacity because of attacks on pipelines and security problems.
Iraqi officials still insisted the plant had been attacked by rockets or mortars. There was no explanation for the discrepancy, and the U.S. military would not elaborate further on the details of the pipeline fire."
