quote:

Baghdad Blackout Caused by Sabotage 16 minutes ago Insurgents sabotaged power lines to the capital Friday evening, knocking out electricity across the greater Baghdad area and plunging it into darkness on the eve of the country's key vote on a new constitution. Mahmoud al-Saaedi, an Electricity Ministry spokesman, said power lines were sabotaged between the northern towns of Kirkuk and Beiji leading to the Baghdad region. He did not specify how insurgents damaged the lines, but militants in the past have used bombs to hit infrastructure. Iraqi and U.S. forces have clamped down with intensive security measures to prevent insurgent attacks on voters Saturday. Al-Saaedi had earlier said "technical problems" were to blame for the blackout and that there was no sign of sabotage. The lights went out soon after sundown, when Muslims break their daily fast during the holy month of Ramadan, at around 6 p.m. Power was still off more than two hours later, ahead of the start of the 10 p.m. curfew. Baghdad's skyline was black except for pinpoints of light from private generators. The blackout appeared to have affected much of Baghdad province, an area of 2,250 square miles. "This has affected large areas of the central Iraq and other large surrounding regions," he told The Associated Press. "Our crews are working on fixing them and the problem could be solved soon and the power will be back gradually." The frequent power outages that hit Baghdad and other parts of Iraq are a constant cause of complaints. Friday night's blackout, however, hit an area larger than most. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051014...zkxBHNlYwN0bQ--

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