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BAGHDAD October 20, Iraq - Suspected insurgents
using explosives set fire to the main oil pipeline
in Kurdistan (northern Iraq) on Thursday, officials
said.
The pipeline links an oil field in
Kurdistan-northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk to Iraq's
largest oil refinery in Beiji, 155 miles north of
Baghdad.
The explosion occurred at about 5 a.m., setting fire
to the pipeline and several oil valves about 35
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.
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.
AP
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