- EL-ARISH, Egypt: A senior Egyptian security official says militants have blown up a gas pipeline in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula that transports fuel to neighboring Israel and Jordan.
Northern Sinai security chief Maj. Gen. Saleh Al-Masri says Monday’s blast hit a section of the pipeline outside the city of el-Arish. He says it did not cause major damage or a fire since the gas flow had been cut following a blast on the pipeline last month.
The attack was the 14th on the pipeline since the popular uprising that ousted longtime Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak last year.
Previous bombings of the pipeline have been blamed on Islamist militants who have stepped up activity in the Sinai, taking advantage of a security vacuum caused by a thin police presence in the post-Mubarak era.