17 October 2004	Sunday	02 Ramazan 1425

BAGHDAD, 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.

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," 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.

Iraq, which has one of the largest oil reserves in the world, imports around $2 billion worth of refined products a year. -Reuters