Insurgents targeting Baghdad power supply

BAGHDAD, Dec. 19 (UPI) -- Insurgents in Iraq are destroying power transmission towers, reducing Baghdad's electricity supply to 6.6 hours a day, The New York Times reported.

Karim Wahid, the Iraqi electricity minister said seven of nine lines feeding power into the capital were taken down last week and just a trickle of electricity was flowing through the two others.

"Now Baghdad is almost isolated," Wahid said "We almost don't have any power coming from outside."

There are several aging power plants within or near the city's borders but the bulk of Baghdad's supply comes from plants north, south and west of the city. Much of the electricity is carried on lines across the desert, leaving the towers vulnerable to attack, the report said.

There have been incidents in which repair crews have been attacked and workers have been killed, Wahid said. There have also been cases in which much of a fallen tower had been cut up and taken for sale on the black market.

Outside of Baghdad, the rest of the country has an average 8.9 hours of electricity per day, the report said.