Militants Bomb Iraq’s Largest Oil Refinery

Firefighters battle blaze for five hours after attackers kill four workers

In this April 18, 2005 file photo, Iraqi police officers, assigned to protecting oil production and distribution, watch from across the Tigris River as fire and smoke billow from a pipeline fire following an explosion near Beiji, Iraq. (Photo credit: Bassem Daham / AP file)

Reuters and The Associated Press via MSNBC.com
February 26, 2011

BAGHDAD — Militants attacked and shut down Iraq’s largest oil refinery on Saturday, killing four workers and setting off bombs that started a raging fire, officials said.

The assailants broke into the Beiji refinery around 3:30 a.m. local time, attacking guards and planting explosives.

“The refinery has completely stopped,” Salahuddin province Governor Ahmed al-Jubouri told Reuters. “It’s a big loss for the whole country. All Iraqi cities depend on its production.” …

Beiji is about 155 miles north of Baghdad. …

The country’s capacity to refine fuels like diesel and gasoline has been ravaged by underinvestment, and it has been forced since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion to buy imported fuels to meet the growing gap between supply and domestic demand. …

Full story

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FROM THE ARCHIVES: One Year Ago — February 27, 2010

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Still images captured from video over a two-hour period show the changing water color and wave action in Hilo Bay during the time the first tsunami waves were expected following the Chilean earthquake. (Photo credit: MSNBC)

One year ago today, I reported that a tsunami triggered by a magnitude 8.8 earthquake off the Chilean coast was racing across the Pacific Ocean, potentially threatening Hawaii.

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FROM THE ARCHIVES: Two Years Ago — February 27, 2009

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Two years ago today, on Feb. 27, 2009, I reported that President Barack Obama won crucial backing for his Iraq military withdrawal plan from leading Congressional Republicans, including Senator John McCain and Ohio Rep. John A. Boehner, the House minority leader.