A security official in Egypt says militants have blown up a natural gas pipeline in the Sinai Peninsula. The official says a strong explosion rocked a village in central Sinai called el-Riysan on Friday after militants planted explosives beneath the gas pipeline connected to cement factories in the area. The official said there were no casualties. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief journalists. Gas pipelines have come under attack several times over the past three years since the 2011 downfall of longtime president Hosni Mubarak. The peninsula plunged into lawlessness after his ousting. Suicide bombings have spiked and spilled into to the capital and Nile Delta cities after the ouster of Islamist resident Mohamed Morsi on 3 July. An al-Qaida-inspired group called Ansar Beit al-Maqdis has claimed responsibility for most of the attacks. This story is edited by Ahram Online http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/91809.aspx
