Iraqi oil train blown up amid outrage over diplomats’ killing

BAGHDAD – Insurgents yesterday blew up an Iraqi train carrying petroleum products, setting off a huge blaze, as foreign governments angrily condemned the murder of two Algerian diplomats kidnapped last week in Baghdad.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari accused rebels of seeking to undermine diplomatic ties between the Arab world and Iraq, and signalled that US-led coalition forces would be called on to protect foreign diplomats in the capital. The morning attack against the oil train was the first such in the country, railway spokesman Jawad Al-Kharsan told AFP.The attack ignited a massive blaze extending down the railway line in southern Baghdad.The seven-tanker convoy was approaching the Dura oil refinery, less than a kilometre away, when it was attacked.An interior ministry official said the train struck a bomb on the line, but railway workers said the explosion could also have been caused by a rocket-propelled grenade.There were no initial reports of casualties and the five-man train crew escaped unhurt, railway officials said.In other violence, the US military said yesterday that two of its soldiers had been killed and one wounded in a bomb attack on Wednesday in north Baghdad.The deaths brought the total number of US military personnel who have died in Iraq since the March 2003 invasion to 1 784, according to an AFP tally based on Pentagon figures.The largest US labour federation, the AFL-CIO, meanwhile called for the rapid return of US troops from Iraq.”An unending military presence will waste lives and resources, undermine our nation’s security and weaken our military,” the AFL-CIO stated in a resolution adopted at the federation’s convention in Chicago.The federation, which has nearly 11 million members, also blasted President George Bush for misleading the public about the war.”The American people were misinformed before the war began and have not been informed about the reality on the ground and the very difficult challenges that lie ahead,” it said.- Nampa-AFPThe morning attack against the oil train was the first such in the country, railway spokesman Jawad Al-Kharsan told AFP.The attack ignited a massive blaze extending down the railway line in southern Baghdad.The seven-tanker convoy was approaching the Dura oil refinery, less than a kilometre away, when it was attacked.An interior ministry official said the train struck a bomb on the line, but railway workers said the explosion could also have been caused by a rocket-propelled grenade.There were no initial reports of casualties and the five-man train crew escaped unhurt, railway officials said.In other violence, the US military said yesterday that two of its soldiers had been killed and one wounded in a bomb attack on Wednesday in north Baghdad.The deaths brought the total number of US military personnel who have died in Iraq since the March 2003 invasion to 1 784, according to an AFP tally based on Pentagon figures.The largest US labour federation, the AFL-CIO, meanwhile called for the rapid return of US troops from Iraq.”An unending military presence will waste lives and resources, undermine our nation’s security and weaken our military,” the AFL-CIO stated in a resolution adopted at the federation’s convention in Chicago.The federation, which has nearly 11 million members, also blasted President George Bush for misleading the public about the war.”The American people were misinformed before the war began and have not been informed about the reality on the ground and the very difficult challenges that lie ahead,” it said.- Nampa-AFP