KIRKUK, Iraq – Saboteurs on Saturday attacked a natural gas pipeline that feeds into a northern power station, an official with the North Oil Company (search) said.
Attackers planted a bomb near the gas pipeline in the Safra (search) area, about 55 miles west of Kirkuk. The pipeline runs from the oil-rich northern city of Kirkuk to a power station in Beiji, said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The attack is likely to affect power supplies in the northern region of Iraq, but it was not immediately clear by how much.
The attack comes just days after a key export pipeline in the southern part of the country was brought back on line after being damaged by saboteurs or smugglers last Saturday. That attack forced oil officials to cut exports from the south to about 960,000 barrels a day, roughly half the current export capacity from that region.
Insurgents often target the country's crude oil (search) and natural gas infrastructure. Revenue from crude oil exports is pivotal in Iraq's postwar reconstruction efforts.
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