Egyptian security sources said unidentified attackers blew up the gas
pipeline in the Sinai Peninsula on July 4. The sources reported the
explosion at Sinai's Bir Abed, 60 kilometers from the Suez Canal, which
damaged the facility and forced a shutdown of the entire pipeline.
This marked the fourth reported attack on the gas pipeline since
February and came amid Egyptian government demands for clients to pay
significantly higher fees for energy.
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The pipeline supplies Israel, Jordan
and Syria, and an Egyptian official was quoted as saying the facility would
be repaired by July 6.
The sources said the latest attack was similar to previous sabotage,
which has been blamed on Bedouins and Al Qaida agents based in the
neighboring Gaza Strip. They said men armed with submachine guns broke into
a pipeline station, drove out the guards and then planted explosives that
blew up the facility.