Bomb Attack Causes Fire in Iraq Fuel Pipeline Again

A bomb set fire to a pipeline carrying fuel oil from Iraq's largest refinery to a province north of Baghdad, the second attack in less than a week on the same pipeline, the oil ministry said.

The line was targeted on 17 February 2013 when a bomb attack disabled the 16-inch pipeline transporting fuel oil from Iraq's largest refinery of Baji to Nineveh province in the north.

The oil ministry said a technical crew managed to repair the damaged part of the line, which normally pumps around 7 million liters of fuel per day, and resumed fuel pumping 17 February 2013 evening.

The second bomb blast - which was occurred on 20 February 2013 morning near the province of Nineveh, has halted flow and firefighters were still trying to control the blaze and assess damage, the ministry said in a statement.

"Terrorists placed bombs and landmines around the location of the attack to prevent the technical crew from reaching the place," it said.

Iraq has seen fewer attacks against energy infrastructure following the withdrawal of U.S. forces in December 2011. But at least three bombs targeted oil storage and pipeline networks in the country's southern oilfields in 2011.

Attacks have declined as security gradually improved after the U.S.-led invasion in 2003 and the OPEC country has attracted more foreign investment.

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