DIWANIYAH - At least 74 people were killed and 94 injured when an old fuel pipeline caught fire near the southern Iraqi city of Diwaniyah on Tuesday, a senior health official told AFP.
"The latest toll for the tragedy is 74 people killed and 94 injured," said Hamid Taathi, head of Diwaniyah`s health department.
A defence ministry official said the pipeline had not been used since 2003 but still contained some fuel and that local residents often cut holes in it to siphon off petrol, which currently is in short supply.
"Today also they did the same thing when the explosion was set off," he said on condition of anonymity.
Earlier Diwaniyah municipal councillor Ghanim Dahash blamed saboteurs for the blast on the pipeline in Afak district which used to carry petrol from southern Iraqi oilfields to the capital.
Diwaniyah was the scene of violent clashes between the Iraqi army and fighters of Shiite radical leader Moqtada Sadr`s Mahdi Army militia on Monday, which left 81 people dead.
08/29/2006 15:30 GMT