An explosion shut down an oil pipeline near the northern city of Beiji on Wednesday, a police official said. The pipeline transports oil from the northern oil center of Kirkuk to refineries in Beiji, from where it is pumped via the country's export pipeline to the port of Ceyhan, Turkey, according to a report of The Associated Press. The blast occurred early Wednesday at Fatiha, 10 miles northeast of the Beiji refinery, said Mattshar Abdullah, who works on a special Iraqi police force set up to guard oil pipelines and refineries.
