Yemen's export gas pipeline bombed

Unidentified gunmen on Tuesday blew up a gas pipeline that transfers Yemen's liquefied natural gas ( LNG) to an Arab Sea export terminal, the Yemeni defense ministry website reported. "A section of the main export LNG pipeline in a desert area between the eastern provinces of Marib and Shabwa was bombed late on Tuesday by unidentified gunmen," the ministry said in a brief statement. An official from the Interior Ministry said the bomb was detonated by "remote-controlled explosive devises planted under the pipeline." "Huge fire was seen several miles away... the kind of bombing bore the hallmarks of al-Qaida network," he told Xinhua by phone on condition of anonymity. "It was the eighth attack against the export gas line since the beginning of this year," the official said. The 320-km pipeline, linking gas-producing Marib province to Belhaf LNG export facility in Shabwa province, has been repeatedly targeted by al-Qaida operatives. The French-led LNG company resumed exporting gas last month after the pipeline had been repaired following the previous attacks. The al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, which is based in southern Yemen, has been fighting Yemeni government forces for months. A months-long offensive by the Yemeni army, supported by the United States, drove the militants out of their hideouts in June. The terrorist network had claimed responsibility for a number of attacks on the oil and gas pipelines in retaliation for the "continuing U.S. drone strikes." .