Attackers blow up gas pipeline in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula. Pipeline brought fuel to Israel and Jordan.

A pipeline carrying gas from Egypt to Israel and Jordan has been blown up in northern Egypt by saboteurs, witnesses and security sources said.

Monday's blast took place some 30km west of the town of El-Arish, near the Israeli border, a few hours before the country holds its first free election since President Hosni Mubarak was ousted in February.

There was a second consecutive blast, about 100 metres away, sources told the Reuters news agency.

Egypt's state-run news agency MENA said the explosion was in al-Sabeel area. Security forces and fire trucks raced to the scene.

A security cource told Reuters the explosions were detonated from a distance and that tracks from two vehicles were found in the area.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Unpopular gas deal

The pipeline was last attacked on November 25. It is the eighth such attack since Mubarak stepped down on February 11. It is the ninth this year, with the first attack a few days before Mubarak was ousted.

Egypt's 20-year gas deal with Israel, signed in the Mubarak era, is unpopular with the Egyptian public, with critics arguing that the Jewish state does not pay enough for the gas. Read More