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| Iraq |
| Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline explosion |
| 2008-11-22 |
| An explosion at the Kirkuk-Ceyhan oil pipeline, which links the Iraqi city of Kirkuk with the Turkish port of Ceyhan, has halted oil exports. CNN-Turk reported that the strong explosion took place in the southeast Turkish province of Mardin, but did not provide further details including how the explosion occurred. Meanwhile sources from the Turkish energy ministry and pipeline company Botas told Reuters that Kurdish guerrillas launched the bomb attack on the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline, which carries Iraqi oil to Turkey and has a yearly capacity of 70 million tons of crude oil. They said the attack, which triggered a large fire, occurred at 8:30 pm (1830 GMT) on Friday evening. Local officials in Mardin declined to comment. Separatist Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants have claimed responsibility in the past for similar attacks on pipelines in the eastern Kurdish provinces of Turkey. The Kirkuk-Ceyhan oil pipeline has also been attached in the past. It was also attacked on several occasions by Iraqi insurgents following the US invasion of Iraq in 2003. |
| Posted by:Fred |