Insurgents blew up a major oil pipeline in northern Iraq, halting the country's oil exports via Turkey, a police source said Tuesday.

The attack took place late Monday when gunmen bombed the oil pipeline near the area of Tulool al-Baj, some 250 km north of Baghdad, the source from Salahudin province told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

The blast struck the main pipeline that convey crude oil from Iraq's largest refinery in the town of Baiji, some 200 km north of Baghdad, heading north to Turkey and then to its port of Ceyhan on the Mediterranean Sea, the source said, adding "The sabotage cause a huge fire at the scene and resulted in an oil leak, prompting authorities to halt the oil pumping."

Firefighters and civil defense units have rushed to the scene to prevent the oil from spreading as the first step to put out the fire, he said.

Iraq's oil pipelines have been frequently attacked by insurgents since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003. Endi

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