Raid Targets Illegal Gasoline Sales in Iraq; 20 Held

BAGHDAD — With fuel in acutely short supply in Iraq, U.S. forces have arrested 20 people and seized 28 gasoline tankers and nine propane trucks allegedly involved in a black market operation in Baghdad, the military said Friday.

The sweep occurred Thursday as the Iraqi Oil Ministry announced a rationing plan to overcome gasoline shortages throughout the country, which has the world’s second-largest oil reserves, trailing only neighboring Saudi Arabia.

In Baghdad, lines of cars at antiquated gas stations stretch more than a mile, and drivers line up overnight to beat the daytime rush.

It can take 10 hours or more to reach the pumps from the end of the queue.

The official price of gasoline is about 5 cents a gallon. It can be as high as $1.85 on the black market.

Commanders fear that illegal gasoline sales are helping fund the anti-American insurgency in Iraq.

“The operation is intended to combat corruption both to improve quality of life for the Iraqi populace and to deny former regime elements illegal sources of income,” the U.S. military said in a statement.

The new Oil Ministry regulations allow cars to fill up only on alternating days, depending on whether their license plate numbers are odd or even.

“The new policy is meant first and foremost to defuse the bottleneck at the gas stations and let as many people as possible get gasoline,” said Abdul-Sahib Salman Qutub, an Oil Ministry advisor.

War-damaged and outdated refineries in Iraq and difficulties in bringing crude oil supplies back to sufficient levels are blamed for the shortages. As much as two-thirds of Iraq’s gasoline supply has been coming by truck from Turkey.