BAGHDAD: Militants in pick-up trucks ambushed Iraqi army outposts protecting a major oil export pipeline in the north of the country overnight, killing at least 16 soldiers by shooting them and slitting their throats, security and medical sources said.
No group claimed responsibility for the attack, but Sunni Islamist and other insurgents have been regaining momentum in a campaign to destabilise Iraq’s Shi’ite-led government.
The attack took place near the Ain Al Jahash area, 30km south of the city of Mosul in Nineveh province, through which a long section of pipeline stretches from Iraq’s Kirkuk oilfield to neighbouring Turkey.
“Dozens of gunmen in pick-up trucks launched orchestrated attacks against army commando soldiers protecting an oil pipeline,” said a security source, adding that an army humvee vehicle had gone missing during the attack. “The soldiers were taken by surprise and this is why we have such a high death toll.”
The Opec member’s ambitious plans to ramp up its oil output have been held back by poor maintenance, technical problems and now deteriorating security.
More than 1,000 people were killed in attacks across the country in January alone, building on a trend of intensifying violence that made last year the bloodiest since 2008, when sectarian warfare began to abate from its height.Reuters
