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Ghazi Talabani, head of security for Iraq's northern oil fields, was gunned down outside his home in the northern city of Kirkuk yesterday. A cousin of powerful Kurdish political chieftain Jalal Talabani, his death threatens to aggravate ethnic tensions in the oil-rich city.

The shooting came a day after Iraq's oil exports were effectively halted when a pipeline was blown up near the southern city of Basra. Tuesday's blast completely shut down oil exports from Iraq's two main terminals, losing hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue and adding to the air of instability.

(photo: AFP)