An Egyptian pipeline sending gas to Israel and Jordan was hit by two explosions early today, Egypt's security services and the official news agency said.
A first blast occurred around 1:00 am (0430 IST) 40 kilometres west of the town of al-Arish in the north of the Sinai peninsula, a security source said. A second unexplained explosion took place near a pumping station in the same sector, the official news agency MENA said, adding that the army was deploying in the region.
The pipeline, which carries gas through the Sinai and on to Jordan and Israel, had already been attacked six times since former president Hosni Mubarak was toppled in February. Witnesses said they had seen armed men at the scene of the first blast, the security source said. He did not know if there had been any victims.
MENA, also quoting witnesses, said a blaze could be seen after the explosion. Previous attacks have disrupted gas deliveries to both destination countries several times, but it was not immediately clear what impact the latest incidents would have.
The most recent attack was on September 27 and left one person injured. Army experts have also located and defused a number of other devices targeting the pipeline. Egyptian authorities have on several occasions announced measures to step up protection of the pipeline and try to arrest those behind the attacks.
Israel generates 40 per cent of its electricity using natural gas, and Egypt provides 43 per cent of its supplies of the material. The deliveries to Israel, agreed under Mubarak who was overthrown on February 11, have come under heavy criticism in Egypt. Egyptian gas also covers 80 per cent of Jordan's electricity production demand -- 6.8 million cubic metres a day.
Egypt's Sinai region is particularly security sensitive due to tensions with the Bedouin community living there. Many goods are smuggled to the Palestinian enclave of Gaza through Sinai, which the Israelis also charge is a rear base for militant attacks against its territory.