Bomb attack sets oil pipeline ablaze

BASRA, Iraq (AP) _ Insurgents bombed Saturday an oil pipeline in southern Iraq that had not been in use for several days, setting it ablaze, security forces in the area said. <br/><br/>That attack took

Saturday, August 21st 2004, 10:07 am

By: News On 6

BASRA, Iraq (AP) _ Insurgents bombed Saturday an oil pipeline in southern Iraq that had not been in use for several days, setting it ablaze, security forces in the area said.

That attack took place at Berjisiya, 20 miles southwest of the southern city of Basra, said Lt. Mohammed al-Mousawi of the Iraqi National Guard.

The pipeline, which connects the Rumeila oilfields with export storage tanks in the Faw peninsula, had been shut down for a week due to threats from insurgents, and it was unclear what effect the bombing would have on exports.

``The aim behind attack is to damage the pipeline in case it is turned on again,'' al-Mousawi said.

The bomb exploded near a pipeline valve, he said. National Guard troops discovered and defused a second bomb nearby, he said.

Insurgents have repeatedly sabotaged Iraq's crucial oil industry, its main source of income, in an effort to hamper reconstruction efforts here. The threats to the oil infrastructure have increased in recent weeks amid a violent uprising by Shiite militants in southern Iraq, where much of the oil industry is located.