Firemen put out sabotaged Iraqi oil pipeline blaze

KIRKUK, Iraq, Feb 8 (AFP) - Firemen on Tuesday extinguished a blazing oil pipeline in northern Iraq that had been hit by an insurgent attack, said the Northern Oil Company.
"Teams of firemen have managed, in cooperation with the army and the police, to put out the fire which started on the pipeline hit by a rocket," said fireman Hassan Abdallah.
The pipeline carrying crude oil from Iraq's northern Kirkuk hub to the key refinery of Baiji was attacked Monday.
Baiji refinery is key to providing much of Baghdad's power supply.
According to the Iraqi government, attacks on the country's oil infrastructure have cost Iraq seven to eight billion dollars in exports since the March 2003 US-led invasion.

02/08/2005 13:37 GMT - AFP