Saboteurs bomb Egypt gas pipeline to Israel, Jordan

CAIRO: Saboteurs bombed an Egyptian gas pipeline in the Sinai peninsula on Monday, sending flames shooting into the sky and cutting supplies to Israel and Jordan, a security official said.

Officials said a car had parked near the pipeline in the Bir al-Abd area, 80 kilometres (about 50 miles) from the northern Sinai town of El-Arish, shortly before the explosion.

They said the bomb was activated remotely.

Emergency services were deployed to the area to try to bring the fire under control, an official said.

Witnesses said the flames reached as high as 10 metres (32 feet). There were no immediate reports of casualties.

It was the third attack on the gas pipeline since February, when an uprising toppled former president Hosni Mubarak and saw power handed over to a military council. (AFP)