Azzaman reports that while security may be beefed up in Baghdad, attacks continue on the financial heart of the country.

Assem Jihad, the Oil ministry’s spokesman, estimates that last year there were 159 major attacks--116 of those on pipelines--forcing the county's refineries to operate at half capacity. According to Jihad, the attacks drain the potential income from 400,000 barrels a day--at current high prices the loss amounts to billions of dollars a year.

This year the Iraqi government has designated $2.5 billion for the reconstruction of the oil industry.