Egyptian gas pipeline to Israel, Jordan attacked again

An explosion targeted a natural gas pipeline in the Sinai Peninsula early on Thursday morning, disrupting the flow of gas from Egypt to Israel for the seventh time this year.

Egyptian state media reported that the blast occurred in the early hours near the northern Sinai town of Al-Arish. A second explosion reportedly occurred near pumping station near Al-Arish, but it was not immediately clear if this was the result of an attack.

A Reuters report, citing unnamed Egyptian security sources, said that saboteurs used home-made bombs to strike the pipeline.

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"Primary examination showed that Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) were put under the pipeline and were detonated from a distance," a security source told Reuters. "The attackers used two trucks and extended wires were found at the scene."

It was the seventh attack to target the Sinai pipeline since the February ouster of former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak.

Security officials told the Associated Press that Thursday’s attack left the pipeline destroyed, halting exports – just one month after it had been repaired since the last strike.

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Israel receives around 40 percent of its natural gas supplies from Egypt.

The gas deal between Cairo and Tel Aviv, first signed during the Mubarak era, has been widely criticized in Egypt.

Many Egyptians believe that the deal led to unregulated profits and corruption for members of the former regime, including Mubarak.