Explosion hits Iraq-Turkey oil pipeline

An explosion has hit the Kirkuk-Yumurtalik oil pipeline that transfers crude from Iraq to Turkey.

According to IRIB, the oil supply was temporarily disrupted due to the explosion that occurred on Turkey’s soil in the province of Mardin on Friday night and caused a fire.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but the finger of blame was immediately pointed at the separatist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
The separatist group has been fighting for an autonomous Kurdish region inside Turkey since the 1980s and the conflict has left tens of thousands of people dead on both sides.
The 970 Kilometers-long Kirkuk-Yumurtalik pipeline stretches from Kirkuk in the north of Iraq to Ceyhan port in southern Turkey.
The pipeline’s contract between Iraq and Turkey was extended for another 15 years in 2010 after lengthy negotiations.