Blast hits Iraqi oil pipeline

"There was a pipeline explosion northwest of Baghdad near the town of Hit. There are no reported US casualties," Sergeant First Class Mayra O'Neil told AFP, adding that the cause was under investigation.

"All we know is that there was an explosion," she said.

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But residents of the town, around 150 kilometres (95 miles) northwest of Baghdad, said the attack was a deliberate attempt to disrupt US efforts to rebuild the battered country with revenue from its vast oil reserves.

"It was a sabotage attack. We are ready to make sacrifices so that our oil doesn't go to the Americans or the Israelis," one resident told AFP, declining to give his name.

Another resident said the blast had occurred at around 10:00 pm (1800 GMT) Saturday.

According to a senior oil ministry official, the pipeline linked Iraq's southern oil fields to Baghdad's main Dura oil refinery, adding that the plant would suffer as a result, without giving details.

A US army officer manning a roadblock set up near the scene of the blast simply confirmed the explosion, adding that the military had still not been able to assess if the blast had been caused deliberately.

Iraq had been due to resume pumping oil destined for export on Sunday after a three-month halt due to the US-led war to oust Saddam Hussein, but the head of the Northern Oil Co. told AFP that pumping through the pipeline to Turkey was delayed.

Meanwhile, two US soldiers on patrol in Iraq received light injuries when their military vehicle hit a landmine near the town of Hit, northwest of Baghdad, a US military spokesman said Sunday.

"Two soldiers from the 3rd Armored Division were wounded when their Humvee struck a mine," Sergeant First Class Brian Thomas said, adding that the incident occurred Saturday afternoon.