Bomb blasts halt Iraq-Turkey crude oil flow: Iraqi oil officials

Bomb attacks have halted the flow of crude oil from Iraq’s major pipeline to neighboring Turkey amid a surge in violence across the Arab country, Iraqi oil officials say.

The attacks took place early on Wednesday, with officials saying the pipeline that runs from Iraq’s Kirkuk to the Turkish Mediterranean port of Ceyhan was severely damaged.

One bomb attack occurred at about 01:00 local time near Hadhar in Nineveh Province, 80 km south of Mosul.

Another attack on the pipeline took place near Fatha, located between Kirkuk and the northern city of Baiji, home to Iraq’s biggest refinery.

The export pipeline to Turkey’s Ceyhan can carry 500,000 barrels per day but it’s a frequent target of bombings.

On August 13, the same pipeline was also targeted.

Iraq has seen a surge in violence since the beginning of this year. According to the United Nations, a total of 1,057 Iraqis, including 928 civilians, were killed and another 2,326 were wounded in terrorist attacks throughout the country in July – the deadliest month since 2008.

Similar attacks in Iraq have killed more than 4,400 people since the beginning of 2013, an average of 15 people each day.