Insurgents attack oil pipeline in northern Iraq

[Barrett808]

BAGHDAD, May 5 (Xinhuanet) -- Insurgents blew up an oil pipeline in northern Iraq, setting it ablaze, police said on Thursday.

"An oil pipeline that links northern Kirkuk oil fields to Baghdad was set ablaze after insurgents detonated an explosive improvised device under the pipeline late Wednesday near the Iraqi city of Balad, some 90 km north of Baghdad," said a statement released by the liaison office of US military and Iraqi security forces in Tikrit.

Firefighters rushed to the scene to put out the fire as Iraqi security forces sealed off the area, said the statement, a copy of which was obtained by Xinhua.

Meanwhile, a policeman was killed and four others wounded in a clash with a suspect insurgent in Sherqat, some 250 km north of Baghdad, the statement said.

The suspect was also killed as police raided his house to arrest him, it said. Enditem