Attack closes Yemeni oil pipeline

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SANAA, Yemen, Feb. 11 (UPI) -- Unknown gunmen attacked on oil pipeline in the central Marib province in Yemen, shutting down oil transits, Yemeni officials confirmed.

Unnamed Yemeni officials confirmed to the Yemen Post that an oil pipeline from the central province was shut down after a militant attack.

The 272-mile Marib oil pipeline, which feeds the country's Aden refinery, has been attacked repeatedly by saboteurs. It carries about 110,000 barrels of oil per day from oil fields in Marib and Shabwa provinces in central Yemen.

The Yemen Post reports that militants and their tribal backers have targeted the provincial electricity sector as well during recent campaigns.

Last year, the federal government said attacks on oil and natural gas infrastructure cost the country as much as $15 million per day in lost revenue.

Yemen's national security woes come as the government prepares to launch a national dialogue following years of internal divisions. Sanaa received praise last week after it intercepted a vessel said to contain Iranian weapons meant for anti-government forces.