Oil prices rose back near $71 a barrel Friday, with the kidnapping of a senior Iraqi petroleum industry official serving as a reminder that the killing of al-Qaida’s leader in Iraq did not mean the end of violence and instability in that country.

Oil analysts cautioned against reading too much into the U.S. airstrike that killed Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a Jordanian-born militant who led a campaign of suicide bombings, kidnappings and other violence across Iraq. Attacks on the country’s oil infrastructure, including pipelines, were not directly linked to his movement.

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