'Saboteurs blow up Egypt gas pipeline in northern Sinai'

              Saboteurs blew up a pipeline that runs through Egypt's northern Sinai peninsula and supplies gas to Israel, state television and other sources reported on Saturday, calling it a "big terrorist operation." State TV quoted an official as saying that the "situation is very dangerous and explosions were continuing from one spot to another" along the pipeline. The blast went off at a gas terminal in the northern Sinai town of el-Arish, several hundred meters away from the local airport. The Egyptian army closed the main source of gas supplying the pipeline that was blown up. "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. Israel Radio reported that the suspected sabotage attack did not target supplies to Israel but they were halted as a precaution. It quoted sources in the Israeli consortium overseeing gas imports as saying the morning blast was "nowhere near" the pipe running to Israel but rather near the pipeline leading to Syria and Jordan. Israel gets 40 percent of its natural gas from Egypt, a deal built on their landmark 1979 peace accord. Egypt is a modest gas exporter, using pipelines to export gas to Israel and also to Jordan and other regional states. It also exports via liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities on its north coast, but those are not in the Sinai region. The blast came as a popular uprising engulfed Egypt, where anti-government protesters have demanded the ouster of longtime President Hosni Mubarak for the past two weeks. Sinai Bedouins have long grumbled about being neglected and have often sporadically clashed with Egyptian security forces. Many Bedouin were rounded up after a series of explosions in Sinai tourists resorts between 2004 and 2006. The SITE intelligence group, which monitors al-Qaida and other Islamist websites, said some groups had been urging Islamic militants to attack the pipeline to Israel, with which Egypt has a peace treaty. "Saboteurs took advantage of the security situation and blew up the gas pipeline," a state television correspondent reported, saying there was a big explosion. 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. "Jihadists suggested that Muslims in Sinai take advantage of Egyptian unrest and strike the Arish-Ashkelon gas pipeline, arguing that it would have a major impact on Israel," SITE said. Site quoted one Islamist website author as saying: "To our brothers, the Bedouins of Sinai, the heroes of Islam, strike with an iron fist, because this is a chance to stop the supply to the Israelites." (10,00)