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Egypt: Blast hits gas pipeline in North Sinai, ISIS claims they dunnit
[AA.TR] An explosion occurred Thursday along the main natural gas pipeline in North Sinai province in northeastern Egypt, according to media reports.

A blaze broke out on the pipeline at the village of al-Touloul, east of the coastal city of Bir al-Abd, according to the al-Shorouk newspaper, citing an anonymous source.

The source said the Egyptian Natural Gas Company GASCO "dealt with the incident by securing the lines and closing the control valves to control the fire."

Fire fighters were dispatched to contain the fire.

No information was disclosed regarding the cause of the blast and there was no official comment from Egyptian authorities.

A similar explosion occurred on the pipeline in February and the attack was claimed by the ISIS/ISIS terror group. ​​​​​​​

IS claims, without evidence, that it blew up Israel-Egypt gas pipeline

[IsraelTimes] The Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems....
terror group claims to have blown up a gas pipeline between Israel and Egypt, according to the Rooters news agency.

No evidence is provided. The claim of responsibility is posted on an IS Telegram channel.

There is no immediate acknowledgment of the claim by the Israeli military.

Channel 13 quotes a senior energy official denying the pipeline has been damaged in any way.

The terror group has made similar unsubstantiated claims in the past.

Al Ahram’s take:
Limited explosion hits Egypt's gas pipeline in North Sinai
A limited explosion has taken place in the gas pipeline in North Sinai's Sabika area, 10 kilometres west of Al-Midan, the Army Spokesperson said in a statement on Thursday.

The statement reported no injuries or losses have occurred, adding that an investigation is underway to determine the causes and circumstances of the incident.

The statement gave no information on whether the flow of gas along the pipeline was halted or not.

Targeting the pipeline has repeatedly caused a halt to gas exports to Jordan and Israel, the latter of which Egypt used to supply until April 2012.
Posted by: Fred 2020-11-20
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=587889