The bombing of an oil pipeline in Shabwa yesterday by gunmen with suspected of links to al-Qaeda resulted in the stop of overall pumping of oil in that region.

A local official said, "Gunmen from al-Qaeda put a ticking bomb under the pipes, and was detonated by remote."

He added that "in spite of attempts to contain the oil spill, large quantities were lost, and preliminary estimates the loss to about 5 thousand barrels."

Firefighters are still trying to control the blaze in the oil pipeline, but until the moment, flames continue to rise. According to eyewitnesses, the area of the attack is covered with black clouds due to the government not being able to stop the fire.