BAGHDAD, Feb 10 (KUNA) — A heavy explosion of a booby-trapped oil truck killed four soldiers and caused a total blackout to the country's northern areas.

Aziz Sultan, the official spokesman of the Ministry of Electricity, told Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) that an explosion of a booby-trapped truck near Al-Mosul power plant killed four soldiers and caused interruption of high-voltage energy plant.

He explained that the Mosul station located in the province of Nineveh feeds the network 400 MW of electric power where its stopp had caused a total blackout.

For his part, spokesman for the command of Mosul Brigadier Khalid Abdul Sattar in contact with (KUNA) here said that the booby-trapped truck that exploded had fuel tanks at the end of it.

Abdel-Sattar said, a suicide bomber attempted to enter the city from Al-Sahaji area west of Mosul but elements of the army at the security barrier suspected him and ordered him to stop but he refused their demands and continued on his way prompting soldiers to open fire on the tank before the suicide bomber was able to blow himself up. (end)
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