Al-Qaeda announced on Tuesday its responsibility for the attacks that targeted gas pipelines in the southern gas-rich province of Sabwa, an al-Qaeda stronghold and hometown for the Yemeni-American cleric Anwar al-Walaki who was assassinated last year by US drone.
Suspects believed to belong to al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula have blown up gas pipelines in Balhaf area of Shabwa. Also on Friday, another attack targeted the pipelines, bringing the LNG company production to a halt.
In a text message sent to local media, al-Qaeda claimed responsibility for both attacks and said the attacks came in retaliation for the drone attack that had killed more than five of them last week.
An official in the Liquefied National Gas(LNG) told Yemen Post that last night attack ignited fire in the pipeline that transports gas from the three fields of the company in Balhaf area of Shabwa.
Separately, Reuters reported that police forces managed to defuse a bomb that was planted near a police station in al-Mansoura district in the southern port city of Aden. The official declined to give any further information.
Security has been spiraling in Yemen since early last year when protests calling for the downfall of the former regime erupted, especially in the southern and southeastern provinces of he country.
As the result of the repeated attacks on pipelines of gas and oil in the poor Gulf state, the price of oil soared up to about 120%. As for cooking gas people used to look for one cylinder of gas for days and could only get it from the black market with unaffordable excessive prices. But as of late Gas was available in all stores, however, its price went up to about 100%.