PKK claims responsibility for BTC pipeline explosion

08/08/2008

ANKARA, Turkey -- The terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) claimed responsibility for an explosion on the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline in eastern Turkey, media reported on Friday (August 8th). Initially, local authorities said Wednesday's blast was caused by a system failure, not sabotage. It caused a fire at a section near the eastern town of Refahiye in the Erzincan province and cut oil flow through the pipeline. Separatist Kurdish rebels, who are active in eastern and south-eastern Turkey, have sabotaged gas and oil pipelines in the past as part of their armed campaign for Kurdish autonomy. The BTC pipeline, which is still on fire, will remain shut for about 15 days, an official from the state-run oil and gas company BOTAS said. It carries oil from the Caspian Sea. (Zaman, Xinhua, Financial Times - 08/08/08; Hurriyet, AP - 07/08/08)