Tribal militants blow up gas pipeline in Pakistan

Suspected tribal militants blew up a main gas pipeline and two electricity pylons in a remote area of southwestern Pakistan.

Suspected tribal militants blew up a main gas pipeline and two electricity pylons in a remote area of southwestern Pakistan on Monday, leaving thousands without supplies, an official said.

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No one was hurt in the diversions in Dera Bugti, a town about 350 kilometers (210 miles) east of Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan province. A top government official, Abdul Samad Lasi, said engineers were dispatched for repairs of damages caused by homemade bombs.

"It is the work of terrorists from the Bugti tribe," he said, but didn't offer any evidence to back up his claim. The government has attacked suspected training bases for the insurgents in Baluchistan, where official say they have quelled the insurgency.

However, rebels often target pipelines, pylons, railroads and oil fields in Dera Bugti and elsewhere in the region which is the scene of long-running unrest over autonomy and control of royalties from its natural gas fields.