The Kirkuk-Ceyhan oil pipeline running from northern Iraq to Turkey was blown up on 29 July, with the Turkish authorities blaming the attack on Kurdish militants in the area.

The pipeline has a maximum capacity of about 600,000 barrels a day (b/d) of oil. The extent of the damage remains unclear as the pipeline operator Botas Petroleum Pipeline Corporation assesses the damages, according to a statement from Turkey’s energy ministry.

The attack comes after Turkish forces carried out air strikes on the jihadist group Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (Isis) militants from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in Syria and northern Iraq on 26 July, following a border attack.

Ankara has since called a meeting of Nato to address the situation in Syria. The meeting, which was held on 28 July in Brussels, resulted in Turkey calling for a no-fly zone over Syria as well as a buffer zone between the two countries.