Middle East News
New blast hits Egypt's gas pipeline to Israel, Jordan
Feb 5, 2012, 7:22 GMT
Al-Arish, Egypt - Gunmen set off an explosion at a gas pipeline in Egypt, in the eleventh such attack on the line that transports gas to Israel and Jordan since former president Hosny Mubarak was overthrown a year ago.
Witnesses told dpa that the fire along the pipeline at al-Masaid, west of the city of al-Arish in northern Sinai Peninsula, could be seen from a distance of 20 kilometres away.
Civil defence forces and firefighters were reportedly called to the scene and the company that operates the pipeline, Egyptian Natural Gas Company (GASCO), shut down the lines.
The attack followed the death of a man who was detained pending investigation on charges that included previous attacks on the pipeline.
Many in Egypt have been protesting gas exports to Israel, which have been running since 2008 under a 15-year deal with preferential terms.
Officials in post-Mubarak Egypt have been trying to amend the deal.
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