Egypt has suspect in pipeline bombings

CAIRO, Dec. 28 (UPI) -- A suspect was arrested in Egypt in connection to a pipeline bombing in Sinai Peninsula after a group claimed responsibility for the attack, sources said.

A November attack on the natural gas pipeline carrying supplies to Israel and Jordan coincided with the country's first post-revolution election for seats in the Egyptian Parliament.

The attack was the latest in a series of bombings since an uprising ousted Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak after more than 30 years in power.

Security sources in Cairo told Egyptian daily newspaper Al-Masry Al-Youm they had a suspect in custody in connection with the bombing. The sources didn't indicate the degree to which the suspect was involved in the bombing, claiming only the suspect belonged to a militant group.

Last week, a group calling itself Ansar al-Jihad said it was responsible for the latest attack. In an Internet message, the group said it was at war with "the corrupt (Egyptian) regime and its Jewish and American backers." It was loyal, the group added, to the teachings of "the martyr Imam Osama bin Laden."

Israel and Jordan meet a significant amount of their energy demands with Egyptian natural gas. East Mediterranean Gas, a subsidiary of Ampal-American Israel Corp., filed a suit in an international court against Egyptian energy companies because of the frequent supply disruptions.

Al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, an Egyptian, praised those who bombed the pipeline during the summer.