Bombs halt Iraq oil exports to Turkey

Multiple bombs hit a pipeline carrying oil from Iraq to Turkey on Monday, causing a major fire and stopping exports, a senior official from the North Oil Company said.

The bombs exploded early on Monday in Al-Sharqat, an area of Salaheddin province, destroying part of the pipeline, the official said on condition of anonymity.

The fire caused by the blasts has since been brought under control, the official said, expressing hope that repairs would be completed in two days.

The 970-kilometre (600-mile) pipeline runs from Iraq's northern oil hub of Kirkuk to the port of Ceyhan on Turkey's Mediterranean coast, pumping about 330,000 barrels of oil per day.

But saboteurs in both Iraq and Turkey have repeatedly disrupted exports through the pipeline.