Iraq's Oil Ministry says oil exports in April dropped by more than two million barrels because of fighting with Shiite militiamen.
The ministry says that oil exports stood at 57.06 million barrels for April, down from 59.4 million the month before.
The statement Sunday blames the drop on clashes with the Mahdi Army militia of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr during a crackdown in the southern oil port of Basra in early April. It says the fighting damaged pipelines and forced the closing of some units.
Iraq sits on the world's third-largest oil reserves with more than 115 billion barrels.