Engineers fixed a major oil pipeline in northern Iraq after it was sabotaged earlier this week, the Iraqi government said Wednesday. The pipeline, in the area of Fatha, 110 kilometers (70 miles) southwest of Kirkuk, was set ablaze late Monday, a statement said. The line leads from the northern oil fields to the Turkish port of Ceyhan, a principal export route for Iraqi oil. Exports stopped after the attack. Oil ministry technicians "immediately started handling this criminal act and the damages were repaired," the statement said. It was not immediately clear if exports resumed. Insurgents have often targeted Iraq's oil infrastructure, repeatedly cutting exports and denying the country much-needed reconstruction money.
