Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
BAGHDAD, Iraq - (AP) Suspected insurgents using explosives set
fire to the main oil pipeline in northern Iraq on Thursday, officials said.
The pipeline links an oil field in the northern city of Kirkuk to
Iraq's largest oil refinery in Beiji, 250 kilometers (155 miles) north of
Baghdad.
The explosion occurred at about 5 a.m., setting fire to the pipeline
and several oil valves about 55 kilometers (34 miles) west of Kirkuk, said
firefighter Adil Mohammed.
"The damage is 100 percent, and we've haven't been able to control
the fire yet," he said.
An official with the Northern Oil Co., which operates the pipeline
and the refinery, confirmed the attack. He spoke on condition of anonymity
in keeping with his company's policy.
Iraq has the world's third-largest known oil reserves, but the
industry has been crippled by several wars, sanctions during Saddam
Hussein's rule and the anti-U.S. insurgency.
Oil production remains limited, curbed by decaying infrastructure
and frequent militant attacks on pipelines and refineries.
fire to the main oil pipeline in northern Iraq on Thursday, officials said.
The pipeline links an oil field in the northern city of Kirkuk to
Iraq's largest oil refinery in Beiji, 250 kilometers (155 miles) north of
Baghdad.
The explosion occurred at about 5 a.m., setting fire to the pipeline
and several oil valves about 55 kilometers (34 miles) west of Kirkuk, said
firefighter Adil Mohammed.
"The damage is 100 percent, and we've haven't been able to control
the fire yet," he said.
An official with the Northern Oil Co., which operates the pipeline
and the refinery, confirmed the attack. He spoke on condition of anonymity
in keeping with his company's policy.
Iraq has the world's third-largest known oil reserves, but the
industry has been crippled by several wars, sanctions during Saddam
Hussein's rule and the anti-U.S. insurgency.
Oil production remains limited, curbed by decaying infrastructure
and frequent militant attacks on pipelines and refineries.