Egyptian gas pipeline bombed for the fourteenth time

The pipeline used to supply Egyptian gas to Israel and Jordan has been attacked for what is believed to be the fourteenth time since the overthrow of the Mubarak regime in Cairo. Egyptian security sources in North Sinai said that an unidentified group of armed men had planted explosive devices on the pipeline network about three kilometres west of the town of El Arish. There were no reported casualties and the effect on supply was limited as repairs were still being carried out following the previous attack in early March.

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Reports in the Israeli media claim that the Egyptian authorities have tightened their security measures to guard the pipeline in the Sinai Peninsula against such attacks. Bedouin patrols are being used and police recruitment has been stepped up. Opponents of the sale of gas to Israel at prices below those paid by the people of Egypt are believed to be behind the bombings.