Officials say an early morning blast today set fire to the pipeline, which links a Kirkuk oil field to the country's largest oil refinery in Beiji, 250 kilometers north of Baghdad.
Iraqi firefighters say they have so far been unable to control the blaze. Oil deliveries to a Turkish terminal at Ceyhan have been temporarily halted.
Iraq has the world's third-largest known oil reserves, but poor infrastructure and the ongoing insurgency has limited oil production.
Also today, the U.S. Army said four U.S. soldiers have been killed in two attacks north of Baghdad. The deaths bring to at least 1,980 the number of U.S. military personnel killed in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003.
(AFP/AP)
For the latest news and analysis on Iraq, see RFE/RL's webpage on "The New Iraq"
