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

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.

The Russian government has officially asked Iraq to reconsider its decision to cancel a contract with LUKoil, which was signed in 1997, to develop one of Iraq's biggest oil fields, West Qurna-2, Interfax reported.