Egypt's gas pipeline to Israel bombed for the third time this year

Egypt's gas pipeline to Israel bombed for the third time this year

2011-07-05 05:30:23 GMT+7 (ICT)

EL-ARISH, EGYPT (BNO NEWS) -- An Egyptian pipeline in El-Arish which supplies natural gas to Israel and Jordan on Monday was the target of a bomb attack for the third time this year, the Egyptian Gazette reported.

At about 1:00 a.m. local time, armed men wearing masks broke into the steam-run power station of El Arish after attacking security guards. Then, the attackers placed explosives under the pipeline and remotely detonated them.

North Sinai Governor el-Sayyed Abdel-Wahab Mabrouk labeled the incident as a terrorist attack and added that gas was cut off from the industrial zone as well as from 2,500 houses in central Sinai.

The pipeline was closed in order to prevent the passage of gas through it. The gas pipeline was set ablaze and by noon, firefighters were able to control the flames that reached as high as 10 meters (32 feet).

There were no casualties or injuries reported. The explosion took place inside the station's Chamber 2 and another bomb was located at the Chamber 3 but it was defused before being detonated.

This was the third attack on the pipeline this year and authorities believed that the same group was behind the three attacks. Many Egyptians have protested the export of natural gas to Israel since the departure of former President Hosni Mubarak.

Egypt supplies approximately 40 percent of Israel's natural gas which is fundamental for generating electricity. The two countries signed a 20-year gas deal in 2008. On April 27, unknown gunmen blew up the pipeline approximately 50 kilometers (30 miles) from the Egyptian-Israeli border.

On February 5, the natural gas pipeline was the target of another attack during the 18-day revolution that forced former leader Mubarak to step down from the presidency on February 11.

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