BAGHDAD, Aug. 16 (UPI) -- It could take weeks to repair Iraq's key oil pipeline, which officials said was damaged possibly by a bomb.
After operating only three days, the pipeline to Turkey was closed Saturday after a fire at Baiji, north of Tikrit.
Although the fire was extinguished, officials told the BBC it could take weeks before the pipeline could flow again.
The U.S.-appointed interim Iraqi oil minister, Thamir Ghadban, said the fire was probably sparked by "an explosive device."
U.S. military sources told the BBC the pipeline had been targeted by saboteurs or looters trying to steal oil. It is the main conduit from the giant Kirkuk oil fields, which produce 40 percent of Iraq's oil production.
Exporting oil from northern Iraq is a crucial part of America's post-war reconstruction plans for the country.
The pipeline was dilapidated and it took engineers months to get it flowing.
