Oil pipeline attacked in northern Iraq
14/2/2005 18:59
Unidentified attackers blew up an oil pipeline near the northern Iraqi city
of Kirkuk and set it on fire, police said on Monday.
The attack took
place at the al-Dibbis oil field north of Kirkuk on Sunday evening, they
said.
Firefighters rushed to the area, but facing difficulties
in putting out the fire due to enormous heat near the fire zone, the police
added.
The pipeline supplies oil for internal use and the damage will
hamper oil production.
Insurgents have regularly targeted Iraq's oil
infrastructure, which repeatedly leads to cutting exports.
According to
the Iraqi government, attacks on oil infrastructure have cost the country seven
to eight billion US dollars in exports since the US-led invasion in March 2003.
Xinhua
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