Head of Arab League arrives in Iraq

Amr Moussa, the secretary-general of the Arab League, arrived in Baghdad today on his first visit to Iraq since the 2003 fall of Saddam Hussein to discuss plans for an Iraqi reconciliation conference.

Moussa is disliked by many Iraqi Shiite Muslims and Kurds for his perceived refusal to act against Saddam Hussein’s persecution of both groups while the dictator was in power.

But Moussa was expected to meet with Iraq’s most powerful Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, and with government and tribal leaders during his three-day visit.

Meanwhile, insurgents continued their attacks in Iraq today, one day after Saddam and seven senior members of his regime went on trial for a 1982 massacre of about 150 Shiites in the town of Dujail, north of Baghdad. Saddam challenged the legitimacy of the court and pleaded innocent to all charges. The judge then adjourned the session until November 28.

Insurgents using explosives set fire to the main oil pipeline in northern Iraq today, officials said. The pipeline links an oil field in the northern city of Kirkuk to Iraq’s largest oil refinery in Beiji, 155 miles north of Baghdad.

The explosion occurred set fire to the pipeline and several oil valves about 34 miles west of Kirkuk, said firefighter Adil Mohammed.

“The damage is 100%, and we’ve haven’t been able to control the fire yet,” he said.

Iraq has the world’s third-largest known oil reserves, but the industry has been crippled by several wars, sanctions during Saddam Hussein’s rule and the anti-US insurgency. Oil production remains limited, curbed by decaying infrastructure and frequent militant attacks on pipelines and refineries.

Yesterday, as Saddam’s trial began, insurgents killed 26 Iraqis in widespread attacks, including three election commission officials who were shot and killed on the outskirts of the capital in Abu Ghraib, as they drove home after another round of counting ballots from the constitutional referendum, police said.

Iraqis are still awaiting the outcome of last weekend’s referendum, as the slower-than-expected vote counting continued. Questions about the integrity of the vote and delays in getting marked ballots to the capital mean final results from the landmark vote won’t be announced until tomorrow at the earliest, officials said.

The returns have raised questions over the possibility of irregularities in the balloting – and have prompted an audit into an irregularly high number of “yes” votes.