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SNIP:Zarqawi Threatens to Disrupt Fuel Imports

BAGHDAD, Iraq,

Oct. 16--Jordanian militant Abu Mussab Al-Zarqawi has threatened to attack foreign trucks carrying imports of refined oil products into Iraq, an Iraqi Oil Ministry official said on Saturday.

A pamphlet the official said was from Zarqawi's Tawhid and Jihad group said non-Iraqi trucks, which carry the bulk of Iraq's imports of refined products, would be attacked, Reuters reported.

Iraq already suffers shortages of oil products, partly due to insecure land routes and sabotage attacks on refineries. "Tawhid and Jihad has already killed a number of drivers. The Turks you hear are killed or kidnapped mostly drive fuel trucks," said the official, who asked not to be named. "The attacks by Zarqawi and others are helping disrupt supply. We are taking the threat seriously," he added. The pamphlet was distributed to oil officials in the north, including the city of Mosul, and to traders who import refined products, such as petrol and diesel, the official added.

"Any car from outside Iraq will be subject to destruction. Iraqi trucks will be allowed movement," said the pamphlet, which was shown to Reuters.

"Some were mistaken when they understood that the goal of the holy warriors is to prevent the flow of refined products and damage people's interests."

Iraq, which has one of the largest oil reserves in the world, imports around $2 billion worth of refined products a year. It has a nominal refining capacity of 550,000 barrels per day, but sabotage and postwar looting have lowered output.