- Title: IRAQ: OIL PIPELINE ERUPTS IN FLAMES AFTER EXPLOSION
- Date: 5th November 2003
- Summary: SAMARRA, 85 KM NORTH OF BAGHDAD (NOVEMBER 2, 2003) (REUTERs) 1. THICK BLACK SMOKE RISING FROM BLASTED OIL PIPELINE 2. VARIOUS PIPELINE BURNING FURIOUSLY, THICK BLACK SMOKE RISING INTO SKY 3. BLACK SMOKE COVERING THE AREA AND FLAMES OF FIRE 1.00 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
- Embargoed: 20th November 2003 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: SAMARRA, IRAQ
- Country: Iraq
- Reuters ID: LVA60BMMNP4K5YQ4ZK9Y2TZZ146H
- Story Text: Iraqi oil pipeline erupts in flames near the town of Samarra,
north of Baghdad.
Locals said the pipeline, which is situated in
Mashrou' al-Thirthar area, 85 km north of Baghdad, caught
fire after an explosion late on Saturday (November 1).
Fire raged furiously with thick black smoke billowing
into the sky.
The pipeline carries oil from the northern oil refinery
city of Beiji to the Baghdad Dora refinery.
It was not immediately clear if the fire was the work
of saboteurs but several Iraqi oil installations have been
targeted since the fall of Baghdad in April.
The line is 15 km away from a main oil export pipeline,
which was set ablaze on Saturday.
Revenues from steady exports are vital for Iraq as it
rebuilds its economy after war, years of crippling economic
sanctions and economic mismanagement under Saddam Hussein,
who was toppled by a U.S.-led invasion in April.
Since then, oil pipelines have been the biggest
economic casualties of a sabotage campaign the U.S.-led
administration blames on remnants of Saddam's Baath party.
- Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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