Flow through a pipeline carrying fuel from Iraq's
largest refinery resumed Thursday following repairs to damage caused by
recent attacks, an Iraqi oil ministry spokesman said.
The 16-inch pipeline was attacked and damaged three times this
month, the most recent of which was on Tuesday by unknown gunners,
Assem Jihad told Dow Jones Newswires.
The pipeline carries oil from the refinery in Baiji to Mosul in northern Iraq.
The attacks forced the country to ship fuel by road through the
northern Ninava province and led to shortage of fuel in the governorate.
Mosul and several other Sunni governorates have seen intense
protests against Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, reflecting the fears of
many Sunnis that they will be marginalized by Mr. Maliki's Shiite-led
government. The protesters have called for an end to the random arrests
of Sunnis and the freeing of prisoners whom they believe have been
arrested without any clear charges.