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Baghdad Closes Oil Taps, Further Crimping Supplies

Iraq Thursday turned the tables and raised the stakes in an escalating battle over United Nations sanctions, ordering its oil taps closed at a time when international markets need the supply.

The action came one day after President Saddam Hussein's cabinet rejected a two-week extension of a U.N. program that allows Iraq to export a limited amount of oil in exchange for food and other aid while sanctions are in place. Iraq had wanted the sanctions lifted altogether.