Insurgents burn 19 fuel tankers north of Baghdad

[Barrett808]

BAGHDAD, Jan. 4 (Xinhuanet) -- Insurgents attacked a convoy of fuel tankers escorted with police commando in north of Baghdad on Wednesday, setting 19 tankers ablaze and destroying three military vehicles, a police source told Xinhua.

"Dozens of armed men ambushed a convoy of fuel tankers in Meshaheda area, some 40 km north of Baghdad, and opened fire with rocket propelled grenades and assault rifles, setting 19 tankers ablaze and damaging three police commando vehicles," Captain Ahmed Abdullah from Baghdad police said.

Fierce fighting broke out between the attackers and US-Iraqi troops which rushed to the area, he said.

The convoy bounding to Baghdad came from the refinery town of Baiji, some 200 km north of the capital.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2006-01/04/content_4009250.htm

A bit more from AP:

...Insurgents attacked a convoy of 60 tanker trucks with rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns, destroying three of the tankers and damaging 15 others, said police Lt. Abdul Zahra Qassim. Three Iraqi army vehicles, which had been guarding the convoy, were also destroyed in the attack about 25 miles north of Baghdad, police said.

Tanker truck drivers had stopped transporting gasoline from Iraq's largest refinery in Beiji on Dec. 18 because of security concerns. The drivers began carrying fuel again this week after being promised increased security.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/01/04/ap/world/mainD8ETU1AG0.shtml

[hatrack]

1. Oops!

Guess they'll have to start sending out more Hummers and Bradleys with those tanker trucks - and I wonder who'll be driving the Hummers and Bradleys. Dunno - maybe our soldiers? Sounds like it might be a little too "challenging" for Halliburton and Blackwater.

[wordpix]

2. * can't even protect co's own illegally gained oil supplies, how

incompetent

[tatertop]

3. Dozens of insurgents attacking an escorted convoy

When is the last time you heard about dozens
of insurgents attacking at one time?
19 fuel tankers is quite a hall.

[Hardrada]

4. Reminds me of how in Viet Nam

a "few" VC derailed the trains and shut down the RVN trains for the rest of the war if not forever!! I knew then that we were really not going to be there for a whole lot longer.

[tatertop]

6. Thank you. I don't recall that as well as I should.

I was too busy staying out of that ratfuck
to pay attention to the details.

[Hardrada]

11. Me too

but some of the news stories of the time were more interesting than others!

[tatertop]

15. That's for sure.

[Spinzonner]

5. Really, how to you 'defend' rolling incendiary bombs ?

[Karenina]

7. Or pipelines?

:shrug:

[truth2power]

8. Bwaha! Now they're called "US-Iraqi troops". ..

Teaching them to stand up so we can stand down and all..

Also, I don't care if they're attacking the fuel tankers. We're taking what doesn't belong to us.

[amandabeech]

9. It looks more like Mad Max all the time. n/t

[HuffleClaw]

10. AP always minimizes these sorts of stories. ALWAYS.

their credibility as a provider of news is highly suspect.

[JohnyCanuck]

12. The Guerilla War for Iraq’s Oil

The Guerilla War for Iraq’s Oil

by Mike Whitney

http://www.opednews.com

A war is raging in Iraq that will determine the outcome of the present occupation as well as the shape of future conflicts. It is the war for control of Iraqi oil.

Currently, America is losing the conflict in rather stunning fashion with little hope of reversing the situation in the near future. This week the Iraqi Oil Ministry announced that oil production “has reached a post-war low” and that the “exports of crude, which had run at an average of about 1.6 million barrels per day since the end of the 2003 war, dropped to 1.2 mbpd in November and 1.1 mbpd in December.” (Al Jazeera) All the indicators point to reduced production due to the escalating violence.

At times, the export of oil has been completely cut off in both the northern and southern regions making it impossible to capitalize off Iraq’s prodigious resources. The Iraqi resistance has grown increasingly skillful in sabotaging pipelines and facilities despite the massive security operations devoted to their protection.

<snip>

The growing opposition to the occupation and the increasingly adept Iraqi resistance provide the foundation for a long and costly conflict. Iraq is the first clear example of asymmetrical warfare in the new century; small groups of rebels who target crucial energy supplies crippling industry and savaging the global economy.

Continued at:
http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_mike_whi_060102_the_guerilla_war_for.htm

[PurityOfEssence]

13. But it's not about oil. Nope, never was.

It's about freedom and crazy partisans hating our freedoms and all that.

[bemildred]

14. So, this is what "increased security" looks like. nt

[bushisaturd]

16. Freedom is clearly on the march...

One of the first signs of spreading freedom is the smell of burning fuel and scorching flesh. I'm sure the torch of freedom was set alight by one of the many flowers that they were throwing as they welcomed the convoy with open arms.

Remember folks, they are in the final throes, mission accomplished...

:evilgrin: