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Blast hits Egyptian pipeline for second in month

Arab World Materials 12 July 2011 09:46 (UTC +04:00)

A blast Tuesday hit an Egyptian pipeline that transports gas to Israel and Jordan, the second such attack this month and the fourth since the ouster of president Hosny Mubarak in February, DPA reported.

An unknown group placed the explosives under the pipeline in the al-Taweel area in the town of al-Arish in the northern Sinai Peninsula, a security source said.

Flames rose from the site as firefighters tried to put out the blaze, witnesses said. No casualties were immediately reported.

A blast shook the same pipeline July 4, cutting gas supplies to Israel and Jordan. No group claimed responsibility for the blast.

The exports are unpopular in Egypt, which has been sending gas to Israel since 2008 under a 15-year deal with preferential terms.

Six former Egyptian officials, including former petroleum minister Sameh Fahmi, were charged in April with harming the public interest and corruption related to the deal.

Egyptian officials have been trying to amend the deal with both countries since Mubarak's ouster.

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