A bomb targeting an oil pipeline south of Baghdad exploded Friday, sparking a fire and cutting supply to a major electricity station, but causing no casualties, police said.
The bombed pipeline was on the outskirts of Musayyib, about 40 miles south of Baghdad, police Col. Salah Salman Mudir said.
The pipeline feeds Musayyib's electricity station, which provides power to the cities of Karbala, Najaf, Hillah and Diwaniyah, he said.
The damage will lead to longer power cuts in the cities, said Ahmed Hassan, the chief engineer of the Babil province electricity department. He said the power supply would now be cut for six-hour stretches and be turned on for two hours, rather than the previous four hours off and two hours on.
"If this pipeline is not fixed within three days, the hours of power cuts will be increased," he added.
Iraqis have faced severe fuel shortages since Saddam Hussein's 2003 ouster in a U.S.-led invasion, and insurgents have frequently targeted pipelines and oil refineries.
URL: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/n/a/2006/09/01/international/i054030D92.DTL