PressTV-Explosion hits Iran-Turkey gas pipeline

ANKARA, July 28 A natural gas pipeline stretching between Iran and Turkey has come under attack inside Turkish territory late on Monday and gas flow was halted, Turkish energy minister Taner Yildiz and state gas company Botas said. The explosion took place in the Agri province, about 9 miles from the Iranian border.

Turkish air force destroyed the military camp of Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in Hakurk in Iraq’s north July 27.

“The explosion caused a fire breakout; however, in a short time we managed to extinguish it. After repairing it, the gas flow will resume”, Yıldız said.

Recognized as a terrorist organization by the US and the European Union, the PKK, which usually perpetrates ambush attacks on military and civilian targets in Turkey, is also known for its attacks on oil and gas pipelines.

It is reported that a blaze at the pipeline was shortly extinguished and that natural gas will flow again after repairs. “Turkish citizens and industrialists should be at ease”. Currently, Turkey purchases about a quarter of its 40 billion cubic meters of piped natural gas from Iran, making the latter the second-largest supplier to the country after Russian Federation. The separatist group has claimed or been blamed for a series of attacks in recent weeks. Turkey last week launched raids against Kurdish rebel bases in northern Iraq – at the same time that it began cracking down on the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group.

On Monday, a gendarmerie officer in the eastern province of Mus died after being shot by suspected PKK militants.