Activists: Oil pipeline attacked, on fire in Syria

[dipsydoodle]

BEIRUT (AP) -- An oil pipeline in the central Syrian city of Homs was attacked Wednesday, setting off a huge blaze, while regime troops stormed several residential neighborhoods in the nearby city of Hama, activists said.

The Local Coordination Committees and the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the Homs pipeline was in the rebel-held neighborhood of Baba Amr, which has been shelled by regime troops for the past 12 days.

The Observatory and the LCC also said that government forces launched a new operation Wednesday in another flashpoint city, Hama, after telephone, cellular lines and Internet connections were cut.

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Video by Homs activists broadcast on social networking sites showed thick black smoke billowing from what appeared to be a residential area.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/ML_SYRIA?SITE=VTBRA&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

Explosion damages oil pipeline in Syrian city of Homs

An explosion has hit a major oil pipeline in the central Syrian city of Homs, witnesses and activists say.

A large plume of smoke was seen rising from the pipeline, which runs near farmland on the edge of the Baba Amr district - the target of bombardment by government forces for more than a week.

State media blamed "armed terrorists", but one activist group said government fighter jets had blown up the pipeline.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-17038164

[David__77]

2. "Government jet fighter?" That's ludicrous.

Destroying infrastructure is a typical asymmetrical war tactic employed by opponents of an existing state, not the state itself. Whether it's Islamists, communists, monarchists or what have you...