U.S. Soldier Killed, Pipeline Sabotaged In Iraq

The two soldiers were medically evacuated by ground ambulance," it said, adding that "one soldier was pronounced dead after arriving at the hospital."

The latest death brings to 53 the number of U.S. troops killed since Bush declared the invasion on Iraq effectively over on May 1, according to an count from U.S. military statements.

The attacks were blamed on self-styled resistance groups, as Iraqis are seethed with anger at the slow pace of improvement and inaction to restore order in the war-ravaged country since the U.S. forces rolled in and Saddam Hussein ousted.

Sabotaged

Also Sunday, a second explosion in 10 days ripped through an oil pipeline northwest of Baghdad.

The explosion, near the town of Hit, will affect power production at Baghdad’s main al-Doura oil refinery.

It will also affect major electrical plant, said the head of the refinery supplying the power station.

"It will affect electricity generation directly. People are already living in hell and it’s only going to get worse," said Dathar al-Qassab, hinting at sabotage.

"It looks as though it’s the same people. There are a lot of similarities," he said, referring to the previous blast.

"Some people do not want us to export oil and that will affect the recovery of Iraq". The pipeline links Iraq’s southern oil fields to Baghdad’s main Dura oil refinery.

The explosion came as anti-American sentiments are growing among Iraqis resentful at the occupation and suspicious of the reasons behind the U.S.-British invasion of their country, whose oil reserves are the world’s second largest.

The oil pipeline between Iraq and Turkey, the main export route from the country’s northern fields, was damaged earlier this month in what officials said was an effort to sabotage the country’s return to the oil market.

This came as the U.S. civil administrator of Iraq Paul Bremer told the World Economic Forum meeting in Jordan that the country’s oil exports, expected to go back on stream in July, would generate 5.5 billion dollars this year.

Bremer, who represented the Arab Islamic country in the meeting amid Arab and international criticisms, cautioned that the level of oil sales would also depend on the security situation.

"We have had repeated acts of political sabotage against the pipelines and the refineries in the last month … We’re going to have to deal with that, you could have some problems meeting production levels," he said.

Some Oil Revenue ‘Could’ Be Distributed To The Iraqis: Bremer

Bremer said that some profits of Iraq’s forthcoming oil sales could be distributed directly to the population.

"Some profits from oil sales could be distributed to Iraq’s citizens as ‘dividends’, along the lines of the system used by the (U.S.) State of Alaska," Bremer said.

"Alternatively, oil revenues could be deposited in a national ‘trust fund’ used to finance public pensions and other elements of a social safety net needed to ease the transition from a state-dominated economy to a private sector economy."

Bremer’s representation of Iraq at the three-day economic gathering came amid louder voices in the country calling for the U.S. forces to leave and a national representative government be set at the helm.

Two top U.S. senators on Sunday warned that U.S. forces will likely have to remain in Iraq for an "extended period of time" allegedly to rebuild the country, create a democracy and ensure stability.

"It’s important we all understand that, that the president say that, that we say that, that it’s a five-year plan of stability for a country that is bankrupt, that is dangerous," said Senator Richard Lugar, the Republican from Indiana, who heads the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.