Egypt TV: Blast, fire at gas pipeline near Israel

[cal04]

Source: Associated Press

An explosion went off Saturday morning at a gas compressor station in Egypt's northern Sinai Peninsula, triggering a huge fire along the gas pipeline, Egyptian media and witnesses said.

Egypt's state TV said the explosion was the result of an attack, but provided no further details. The report could not be confirmed independently.

The blast went off at a gas compressor station near the Sinai town of el-Arish, several hundred yards (meters) away from the local airport, witnesses said. From the compressor station, gas pipelines run to Jordan and Israel.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110205/ap_on_bi_ge/ml_egypt_pipeline_explosion

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http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41435638/ns/world_news-mideastn_africa/

Saboteurs attack Egypt gas pipeline to Israel
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5huw-ts1Q5jlhNQ2IOUlli6gjl5gw?docId=CNG.36fe9f8bbc762c3ed9f469e5f80934c5.8f1

[aquart]

1. No word on casualties?

[The Magistrate]

2. My Guess, Ma'am, Would Be Interior Ministry Types At Work....

[bemildred]

18. Yeppers.

There are going to be "terrists" everywhere.

[egressingsparrowdrop]

3. Ah jeez

Now who would have done that, I wonder...

[theold fossil]

16. DOH!!!

AH DUH!

Radical Islam types attempting to exploit the situaution.

[egressingsparrowdrop]

20. Or maybe the state....

...sounds like the damage isn't too too bad, and now they're throwing around the "terrorist" label...it all provides an excuse for a crackdown

[jakeXT]

4. Eyewitnesses: RPGs fired at state security office in North Sinai

Eyewitnesses said that unknown armed groups fired rocket propelled grenades on Friday on the state security office in Arish, in North Sinai, setting the building on fire.

According to eyewitnesses, the state security building that was under attack was opened only five months ago. The building is adjacent to police headquarters and the governorate's offices, which are also in danger of catching fire if the flames are not contained.

http://www.almasryalyoum.com/en/news/eyewitnesses-rpgs-fired-state-security-office-north-sinai

[cal04]

5. Egyptian official says blast caused by gas leak

The head of Egypt's natural gas company says a fire at a terminal supplying Israel in the northern Sinai Peninsula was caused by a leak - not terrorist activity.

Saturday's fire, preceded by an explosion, did not cause casualties, however officials had to shut off the flow of gas to both Jordan and Israel to contain the blaze.

The confirmation came several hours after the regional governor in the Sinai, Abdel Wahab Mabrouk, had blamed the incident on "sabotage".

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/Egypt-Israel-Gas-Pipeline-Explosion-Blast-In-North-Sinai---Terrorists-Blamed-By-Egyptian-Officials/Article/201102115923569?lpos=World_News_News_Your_Way_Region_9&lid=NewsYourWay_ARTICLE_15923569_Egypt-Israel_Gas_Pipeline_Explosion%3A_Blast_In_North_Sinai_-_Terrorists_Blamed_By_Egyptian_Officials

[Turborama]

6. Egypt-Israel gas pipeline attacked

Source: Al Jazeera English

Unknown attackers have blown up a pipeline that runs through Egypt's North Sinai and supplies gas to Israel, Egypt's state television reported.

It was not immediately clear what impact Saturday's blast had on gas flows.

"Saboteurs took advantage of the security situation and blew up the gas pipeline," a state television correspondent reported, saying there was a big explosion.

He also blamed the blast on"terrorists".

Residents in the area also reported a huge explosion and said flames were raging in an area near the pipeline in the El-Arish area of north Sinai.

Read more: http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/02/20112572657906674.html

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Reports coming in to live TV say that it could have been carried out by disgruntled Bedouins on the border taking advantage of what's going on in the rest of Egypt.


Egypt map - Arish - gas pipeline blown up

9:57am: Our correspondent in Cairo, following this morning's explosion in northern Sinai, says on Twitter: "No casualties in gas pipeline explosion fire now contained investigation underway"

9:46am: The Egyptian army has closed the main source of gas supplying the pipeline that was attacked in northern Sinai this morning, a security source tells Reuters.

"The armed forces and the authorities managed to close the main the source of flow and are trying to control the fires," the source said.

9:34am: There are no reports of casualties in the Sinai blast.

From AJE's live blog: http://blogs.aljazeera.net/middle-east/2011/02/04/live-blog-feb-5-egypt-protests

[DLnyc]

7. Egypt-Israel gas pipeline attacked

Source: Aljazeera English

Unknown attackers have blown up a pipeline that runs through Egypt's North Sinai and supplies gas to Israel, Egypt's state television reported.

It was not immediately clear what impact Saturday's blast had on gas flows.

"Saboteurs took advantage of the security situation and blew up the gas pipeline," a state television correspondent reported, saying there was a big explosion.

. . .

According to a security source, the Egyptian army closed the main source of the gas supply to the pipeline.



Read more: http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/02/20112572657906674.html

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Interesting that (Egyptian) State Television is first to report, instantly "knows" who did it, and quotes a security source.
In case that's too subtle, I'm implying that I think it fairly likely that Mubarak's security forces blew up the gas line themselves.

[Behind the Aegis]

8. I hope you see the irony in your comment.,

[DLnyc]

9. Irony is dead, I guess.

Logically speaking, it would be hard to know definitively exactly what happened so fast after the event.

[Behind the Aegis]

10. It must be.

"In case that's too subtle, I'm implying that I think it fairly likely that Mubarak's security forces blew up the gas line themselves."

"Terrorists" and "saboteurs" are hardly specific, unlike, say, "Mubarak's security forces."

[Poll_Blind]

11. This couldn't have come at a better time as an excuse to initiate a bloody crackdown on...

...demonstrators in the name of combatting terror!

What an astounding happenstance!

PB

[Turborama]

12. Screenshot of footage with the fire in the background...

10:23am A source tells Reuters it was the Jordanian branch of the Sinai gas pipeline that was attacked, not the one to Israel.

10:14am Commenting on the Sinai gas pipeline attack mentioned below, our correspondent says:

It will be a great loss to the Egyptian economy which is already in struggle as a result of the stand-off that is taking place across Egypt with a lot of trade being affected.

10:03am Sources tell Al Jazeera that a small amount of explosives had been placed in a control room along the pipeline which goes from northern Sinai to Israel and Jordan. Our correspondent in Cairo says no major damage was caused to the pipeline, which goes mainly underground. A small amount of gas has been leaked but the leak has now been contained.

[Turborama]

13. Another screenshot of the fire

More up close but smaller as it's from my Livestation feed...

[atreides1]

14. "... disgruntled Bedouins .."

That would be different....generally the Bedouins don't get involved.:silly:

[Turborama]

15. Update: Egyptian official says blast caused by gas leak

By ASHRAF SWEILAM, Associated Press – 33 mins ago

EL-ARISH, Egypt – The head of Egypt's natural gas company says a fire at a gas terminal in the northern Sinai Peninsula was caused by a gas leak.

Saturday's fire, preceded by an explosion, did not cause casualties. However, officials had to shut off the flow of gas to neighboring Jordan and Israel to contain the blaze.

The head of the Egyptian company for natural gas, Magdy Toufik, said in a statement that the fire broke out "as a result of a small amount of gas leaking."

Earlier, a regional governor in the Sinai, Abdel Wahab Mabrouk, told Egyptian media he suspected sabotage, but did not explain further.

More: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110205/ap_on_bi_ge/ml_egypt_pipeline_explosion_10

[riverwalker]

17. You Tube video of the explosion

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7teAVvceaic&feature=youtu.be&a

[goforit]

19. Hope Netanyahu is behaving himself.