Saboteurs in Iraq blew up a key northern oil pipeline on Wednesday, forcing a cut in the supply to the national power grid as demand for electricity rises with the advent of the broiling summer heat, CRIENGLISH.com reported Thursday.

The pipeline blast near Beiji, some 250km north of Baghdad, was the latest in a series of attacks by insurgents against infrastructure targets, possibly to shake public confidence as a new Iraqi government prepares to take over power June 30.

The attack on the pipeline, which carries fuel to the Beiji power station, one of Iraq's largest, forced a 10 percent cutback in the country's 4,000-megawatt production.

Source: CRI