Jordan halts truck transportation to Iraq

Amman, July 8 (IANS) Jordan Tuesday said transporting goods and commodities to Iraq via Jordanian trucks has been completely halted due to the worsening security condition.

"As several militant groups controlled several areas in Iraq, we believe it is unsafe for drivers to go to the Iraqi markets at present," Mohammad Dawood, president of the Jordan Truck Owners Association, told Xinhua Tuesday, hoping that security would be restored soon.

Iraq is a major market for Jordan, whose trucking sector lost about $14 million over the past 30 days as the work of trucks on the Iraq route has been completely kept on hold, he added.

According to Jordan's energy and mineral resources Ministry, imports of oil from Iraq have also been halted since the beginning of this year as transporting crude oil to Jordan via tankers was difficult due to the security conditions in Iraq.