Seventh pipeline attack in Sinai Peninsula since ousting of Mubarak • No suspects named but previous bombings blamed on al-Qaida • Pipeline resumed exports about a month ago after repairing damages from previous sabotage.
The Associated Press and Israel Hayom Staff
EL-ARISH, Egypt — Another explosion hit a gas pipeline in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula early on Thursday morning near the town of el-Arish, security officials said, destroying part of the line and halting exports. This was the seventh time the natural gas pipeline running from Egypt to Jordan and Israel has been attacked since a popular uprising ousted longtime Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak in February.
No suspects have been named in the attack, officials said, but previous bombings have been blamed on al-Qaida-inspired militants who have stepped up their activities in the Sinai region in recent months. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak to the media.
Gas exports through the pipeline resumed about a month ago after damage from previous bombings, which occurred most recently on Sept. 27, was repaired.
The natural gas pipeline is operated by Egypt's gas transport company, Gasco, a subsidiary of the national gas company EGAS, which has been forced to repeatedly repair the pipeline. With 78 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves, Egypt has the third-highest supply in Africa, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Egypt exported 650 billion cubic feet of gas in 2009, of which 30 percent traveled through the pipeline to Israel or via a separate link to Jordan, Syria and Lebanon, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.
