Home
INTERVIEW-Iraq's oil police gear up for attacks as U.S. withdraws Tue Dec 13, 2011 8:25pm GMT
By Rania El Gamal
BAGHDAD Dec 13 (Reuters) - Iraq's oil police have stepped up patrols to protect installations against a possible surge in al Qaeda attacks as U.S. troops withdraw, the head of the force said on Tuesday.
Multibillion-dollar deals Baghdad signed with energy majors could quadruple oil output capacity to Saudi levels within six years but that depends on the OPEC member securing oilfields, refineries and other vital infrastructure.
Major General Hamid Ibrahim, head of Iraq's energy protection force, said half of all attacks planned by al Qaeda targeted the country's oil sector. His force has so far managed to foil most attempts, he said.
"There is direct targeting of the oil sector ... By the start of the withdrawal there will be attacks not just on oil, but they (insurgents) will try to rattle the situation in the country," he told Reuters in an interview. "We are ready and on alert".
Although Iraq took responsibility for the security of its oil sector in 2005, the United States has still been providing aerial surveillance and other support to battle Sunni insurgents and Shi'ite militia, who have plagued the country since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.
But by the end of December - nearly nine years after the U.S.-led invasion - only a small contingent of civilian trainers and fewer than 200 U.S. military personnel will remain.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
By Rania El Gamal
BAGHDAD Dec 13 (Reuters) - Iraq's oil police have stepped up patrols to protect installations against a possible surge in al Qaeda attacks as U.S. troops withdraw, the head of the force said on Tuesday.
Multibillion-dollar deals Baghdad signed with energy majors could quadruple oil output capacity to Saudi levels within six years but that depends on the OPEC member securing oilfields, refineries and other vital infrastructure.
Major General Hamid Ibrahim, head of Iraq's energy protection force, said half of all attacks planned by al Qaeda targeted the country's oil sector. His force has so far managed to foil most attempts, he said.
"There is direct targeting of the oil sector ... By the start of the withdrawal there will be attacks not just on oil, but they (insurgents) will try to rattle the situation in the country," he told Reuters in an interview. "We are ready and on alert".
Although Iraq took responsibility for the security of its oil sector in 2005, the United States has still been providing aerial surveillance and other support to battle Sunni insurgents and Shi'ite militia, who have plagued the country since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.
But by the end of December - nearly nine years after the U.S.-led invasion - only a small contingent of civilian trainers and fewer than 200 U.S. military personnel will remain.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
