Iraqi rebels make $1 bln/yr from refinery-govt

BAGHDAD, Jan 14 (Reuters) - Iraqi militants are taking most of the $1.5 billion a year that is stolen from Iraq's main oil refinery through smuggling and corruption, the government told parliament on Sunday.

Speaking at the second reading of the 2007 budget, Deputy Prime Minister Barham Salih said crime was behind the crisis in the oil industry, which is struggling to meet Iraq's own fuel needs despite having the world's third biggest reserves.

"We have a system and an administration which encourage corruption," said Salih, who has oversight over the economy.

"We are losing $1.5 billion at Baiji refinery alone and most of this money is channelled to terrorists who are using it to target us and target our nation."

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Car bomb kills five at Kurd party office in Iraq

A suicide car bomber killed at least five people and wounded 28 more in an attack on an office of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) in the northern city of Mosul on Monday, police and a Kurdish official said.

Police said the number of civilian casualties was four dead and 26 wounded.

Lieutenant Ahmed Zebari, a military officer with links to the KDP, said inside the office one more person was killed and another two wounded. They were taken to a different hospital.

The KDP is one of the two ruling parties in Kurdistan in northern Iraq. With a mixed population of Sunni Arabs and ethnic Kurds, Mosul has long been a flashpoint of violence.

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