By Amir al-Saadi

BAGHDAD

Iraqi military forces carried out Friday reconnaissance missions over the Persian Gulf region, including the disputed Khawr Abdallah waterway on the Kuwaiti border.

Khawr Abdullah is a border canal situated between Iraq’s Al-Faw Peninsula and the Kuwaiti Island of Bubiyan.

"In cooperation with naval officials and officers from Umm Qasr Port, we conducted reconnaissance operations from Khawr Abdullah to Khor al-Amaya Port and nearby oil facilities," General Jamil al-Shimari, commander of the army’s Basra operations, was quoted as saying in a Defense Ministry statement.

"Operations are aimed at protecting Iraqi territorial waters from smuggling and securing ports and oil facilities," al-Shimari said.

Last week, hundreds protested in Iraq’s southern Basra province against a 2013 maritime deal -- signed under Iraq’s previous government -- ceding the Khawr Abdullah canal to Kuwait.

Signed within the framework of an international agreement aimed at demarcating the border between the two countries, the 2013 deal came back under the spotlight last month after Iraq’s cabinet began allocating funds for its implementation.