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Attackers have blown up a pipeline 60km west of Kirkuk, just a day after repairs
to the route connecting the lucrative oil field to a major refinery in Baiji.
Northern Oil Company fireman Abd Allah Hamad Ali confirmed the morning attack
on Sunday.
"The pipeline was only just repaired yesterday, but it has been attacked
again." Firemen and police were putting out the blaze, he said.
Oil exports from Kirkuk to Turkey have been shut down by incessant attacks.
Regular attacks
Anti-US fighters also regularly attack pipelines between Kirkuk and Baiji,
where oil is processed for domestic and foreign consumption.
The petrol industry has been crippled by rotting infrastructure, attacks by
anti-US fighters as well as smuggling.
The ministry in February estimated its losses at between $7 billion and $8
billion due to attacks since the fall of Saddam Hussein's government in April
2003.
Iraq, with the second largest oil reserves in the world, relies on its energy
resources to keep its economy afloat.
