A truck bomb killed at least six policemen and wounded 16 people Saturday in the northern oil hub of Beiji, the second attack in two days to take aim at Iraq's most lucrative industry.
The explosion in the town about 155 miles north of Baghdad was the latest reminder of an apparent move by insurgents to intensify attacks in the north after being pushed out of the capital, by an increased presence of troops.
Although attacks on civilians in the country have fallen about 55 percent since June, according to figures from the American army, the attacks in the provinces of Diyala and Salahuddin, just north of Baghdad, remained the same or increased. The latest attack was carried out by a suicide bomber in Beiji, a major oil center and home to thousands of employees of Iraq's largest oil refinery. Two pipelines, one carrying oil from Kirkuk to Beiji to the refining area, and another carrying oil to Turkey in the north through the city. The refinery processes about 300000 barrels per day of Kirkuk, according to Iraq's Oil Ministry.
Because of its strategic importance, the city is a frequent target for insurgents, such as pipelines. In June, 18 people died when a suicide bomber blew himself Beiji's police headquarters. In August an attack at another Beiji police post killing 24 people.
Since the war began in March 2003, there were more than 460 attacks on oil facilities in Iraq or industry employees, according to the Institute for the Analysis of Global Security, which monitors security issues energy-related. These have included dozens of explosions along the pipeline, including a Friday about 10 miles northeast of Beiji that sent oil spill into the Tigris.
The attacks have left Iraq critic of the oil industry struggling to increase exports, on which 90 percent of the country's revenue is based. Before the war, Iraq exported about 2.3 million barrels per day. Last year, he averaged 1.6 million barrels per day.
In an interview Friday, Iraq Al Hurra television, Oil Minister Hussein Shahristani said recently, exports have reached 2 million barrels per day. "Thank God for these high oil prices," Shahristani said.
Oil analysts and American officials, however, say that the government of Iraq until pass a bill to oversee the management of oil fields in the country and establish a system of divvying profits of oil, industry remains stunted by lack of investment. Shahristani alluded to that legislation during the interview, saying the most important thing in the industry is "full national control over oil resources," including the guarantee of employment for Iraqis.
He criticized the semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan in the north, which has adopted its own legislation and oil has signed contracts with foreign oil companies. This decision paved the way for a test of Iraq between the Kurdish Parliament, legislators and others who believe that the laws of the Kurdistan of Iraq clashing with national interests.
The American officials have said passage of national legislation on oil must be a priority for the Iraqi Parliament if the mistrust among ethnic groups and regions is to be overcome. There is no sign, however, that the oil bill is close to passage.
The Beiji attack came one day after at least 24 people died in attacks north of the capital.
Also on Saturday, a US operation outside Youssifiyah, 12 miles south of Baghdad, killed 10 suspected militants after leaving a building believed to be an al-Qaeda hideout and entered a nearby palm grove, the American army said .
The suspects were killed in an ensuing gunfight strike and air, the U.S. military said. Then, the troops have found machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades and sandbags filled with explosives. Two men were detained, the report said.
In a second raid outside Jalula, 80 miles northeast of Baghdad, the American forces against Al-Qaeda movement in Iraq member believed to be linked to senior members of the group killed a suspect and found a cache of ammunition the military said.
Two other attacks further north-either in Mosul, Samarra, suspected leftist militants dead and 11 detainees, the military said.
In the southeastern city of Kut, 100 kilometers south of Baghdad, a rocket landed on the house of a senior official local Sadrist bloc politicians Shiites, killing him, his wife and two children, said the police .
The explosion in the town about 155 miles north of Baghdad was the latest reminder of an apparent move by insurgents to intensify attacks in the north after being pushed out of the capital, by an increased presence of troops.
Although attacks on civilians in the country have fallen about 55 percent since June, according to figures from the American army, the attacks in the provinces of Diyala and Salahuddin, just north of Baghdad, remained the same or increased. The latest attack was carried out by a suicide bomber in Beiji, a major oil center and home to thousands of employees of Iraq's largest oil refinery. Two pipelines, one carrying oil from Kirkuk to Beiji to the refining area, and another carrying oil to Turkey in the north through the city. The refinery processes about 300000 barrels per day of Kirkuk, according to Iraq's Oil Ministry.
Because of its strategic importance, the city is a frequent target for insurgents, such as pipelines. In June, 18 people died when a suicide bomber blew himself Beiji's police headquarters. In August an attack at another Beiji police post killing 24 people.
Since the war began in March 2003, there were more than 460 attacks on oil facilities in Iraq or industry employees, according to the Institute for the Analysis of Global Security, which monitors security issues energy-related. These have included dozens of explosions along the pipeline, including a Friday about 10 miles northeast of Beiji that sent oil spill into the Tigris.
The attacks have left Iraq critic of the oil industry struggling to increase exports, on which 90 percent of the country's revenue is based. Before the war, Iraq exported about 2.3 million barrels per day. Last year, he averaged 1.6 million barrels per day.
In an interview Friday, Iraq Al Hurra television, Oil Minister Hussein Shahristani said recently, exports have reached 2 million barrels per day. "Thank God for these high oil prices," Shahristani said.
Oil analysts and American officials, however, say that the government of Iraq until pass a bill to oversee the management of oil fields in the country and establish a system of divvying profits of oil, industry remains stunted by lack of investment. Shahristani alluded to that legislation during the interview, saying the most important thing in the industry is "full national control over oil resources," including the guarantee of employment for Iraqis.
He criticized the semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan in the north, which has adopted its own legislation and oil has signed contracts with foreign oil companies. This decision paved the way for a test of Iraq between the Kurdish Parliament, legislators and others who believe that the laws of the Kurdistan of Iraq clashing with national interests.
The American officials have said passage of national legislation on oil must be a priority for the Iraqi Parliament if the mistrust among ethnic groups and regions is to be overcome. There is no sign, however, that the oil bill is close to passage.
The Beiji attack came one day after at least 24 people died in attacks north of the capital.
Also on Saturday, a US operation outside Youssifiyah, 12 miles south of Baghdad, killed 10 suspected militants after leaving a building believed to be an al-Qaeda hideout and entered a nearby palm grove, the American army said .
The suspects were killed in an ensuing gunfight strike and air, the U.S. military said. Then, the troops have found machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades and sandbags filled with explosives. Two men were detained, the report said.
In a second raid outside Jalula, 80 miles northeast of Baghdad, the American forces against Al-Qaeda movement in Iraq member believed to be linked to senior members of the group killed a suspect and found a cache of ammunition the military said.
Two other attacks further north-either in Mosul, Samarra, suspected leftist militants dead and 11 detainees, the military said.
In the southeastern city of Kut, 100 kilometers south of Baghdad, a rocket landed on the house of a senior official local Sadrist bloc politicians Shiites, killing him, his wife and two children, said the police .
No comments:
Post a Comment