Iraqi oil exports through a key pipeline was halted by sabotage Saturday, just three days after they resumed following the war, officials said. Engineers were forced to shut down the pipeline to Turkey for repairs after a fire broke out at Baiji, north of Tikrit, the hometown of ousted Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. The pipeline carries oil from the northern oil city of Kirkuk to a Turkish terminal at Ceyhan and was only reopened on Wednesday for the first time since March 2003. It could take weeks to repair the damage, US officials said. The export of oil from northern Iraq is a crucial factor in US post-war reconstruction plans for the country.

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