Baghdad: A fire broke out today at an oil refinery in the northern Iraq town of Baiji, halting production, oil ministry spokesman Assim Jihad told AFP.

The fire was caused by "an explosion of gas," said Jihad, who added that no one had been killed. He could not say if anyone had been injured. "It is far too early to say whether it was an accident or not," he said.

He was not able to say when the fire was likely to be extinguished and production expected to resume.

Baiji, a refinery town 200 kilometres north of Baghdad, is in Salaheddin province, which has become the focus in recent months of violent attacks by suspected Al-Qaeda fighters.

Source : PTI