Saboteurs blew up an oil pipeline in southern Iraq early today in the latest attack targeting the country’s crucial oil industry, police and oil officials said.

Attacks on oil pipelines have brought all oil exports from southern Iraq to a complete halt, a senior Iraqi oil official said today.

US military officials and representatives of rebel Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr held talks today aimed at reducing violence in the restive Baghdad slum of Sadr City, a day after clashes there killed 10 people, officials said.

Saboteurs blew up an export pipeline in southern Iraq today in the latest in a series of attacks targeting the volatile country’s crucial oil industry.

Two explosions damaged oil pipelines in southern Iraq, cutting oil exports from the region by half.