LONDON, March 2 (Reuters) - Oil pumping from Iraq's Kirkuk fields resumed on Thursday after a stoppage lasting several hours, two shipping sources told Reuters.

The pumping was stopped after Kurdish forces were deployed to search for explosives said to have been planted by Islamic State, sources said earlier.

(Reporting by Dmitry Zhdannikov. Editing by Jane Merriman) ((Dmitri.Zhdannikov@thomsonreuters.com;))