Pipeline attacked in Turkey, halting gas flow

Saboteurs have attacked a pipeline carrying natural gas from Iran to Turkey in Turkey's eastern province of Agri, halting the flow, Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz and state gas company Botas has confirmed.

There is no claim of responsibility so far, but Monday’s attack bears the hallmark of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), whose camps in northern Iraq have been bombed by the Turkish air force in recent days.

"An explosion occurred as a result of sabotage about 15 km inside the Turkish border on the Turkey-Iran gas pipeline," Yildiz said in a statement.

The blast caused a fire which was swiftly put out, he said.

The pipeline, which carries around 10 billion m³/yr of Iranian gas to Turkey, frequently came under attack by Kurdish militants during the 1990s and up until 2013, when a ceasefire was established.

Repairs to the pipeline are underway but it is not clear when the flow will be resumed.

Edited from various sources by Elizabeth Corner

Sources: Reuters, Telegraph, Business Insider UK

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