IS-linked militants claim attack on Sinai pipeline to Jordan

The Egyptian branch of the Islamic State militant group on Thursday said it had bombed a pipeline that carries gas to Jordan and to a major industrial zone in north Sinai.

Security sources confirmed that attackers set off explosive devices under the pipeline close to Al-Midan village in the north of the peninsula. They said the blasts did not cause any casualties.

North Sinai is a bastion of the "Sinai Province" group, the Egyptian affiliate of IS.

In a message posted on Twitter and signed by "Sinai Province", the militants claimed responsibility for the attack.

"By the name of God, not a drop of gas will reach Jordan until the caliphate gives its permission," the statement said.

Jordan is one of a number of Arab states that have joined the US-led campaign of air strikes against IS, which captured swathes of Syria and Iraq, and declared a caliphate.

Since the 2011 uprising that toppled president Hosni Mubarak, there have been dozens of confirmed attacks by militants on energy pipelines in the Sinai Peninsula, repeatedly forcing a halt in gas supplies to Jordan, as well as to Israel.