Crude oil surges after Basra bombing

Timesonline

The price of crude oil surged this morning after saboteurs bombed one of Iraq's main oil pipelines in what was feared to be a backlash attack by powerful Shia Muslim militias.rnrnThe attack is being seen as an act of retaliation for the Government's campaign to crack down on the Shia private armies, many of them Iranian-backed, which have exerted a powerful and violent influence over the south and centre of Iraq.