**Iranian troops briefly entered southern Iraqi territory and took control of an oil well, it has been reported.**An Iraqi official played down the incident, saying the area was abandoned and right on a disputed border section.
An unknown number of troops crossed the border and raised an Iranian flag over the Fakkah oil field, a US military spokesman told the AFP news agency.
They are understood to have stayed for several hours and then withdrawn back across the border.
“This news is not true,” Deputy Interior Minister Ahmed Ali al-Khafaji told the Reuters news agency.
“This field is disputed and now it is neglected by both sides. There was no storming of the field. It’s empty, it’s abandoned. It is exactly on the border of Iraq and Iran.”