Attack on Kirkuk-Bayji pipeline – 26 killed in Iraq

An explosion along an oil pipeline extending from the northern Kirkuk oilfields to Bayji refineries caused damage to both the line and another parallel pipeline between Iraq and Turkey, on Tuesday.

Twenty-six people including three militants were killed and 59 wounded in separate attacks and military operations across Iraq, according to local authorities.


The ensuing fire hit only a section of the Kirkuk-Bayji pipeline which runs over the River Tigris, but caused a huge oil leak and dense black smoke in the area.

Firefighters were struggling to contain the damage, a source in the local oil industry said. The explosion is expected to halt production at Bayji refineries, which supply more than half of Iraq’s oil products.

DPA