ADEN, Yemen, March 31 (Xinhua) -- The sabotage act which targeted a feed pipeline on Friday night halted output operations along the 320-km gas pipeline linking the oil-producing Maarib province to Belhaf terminal on the Arabian Sea, Yemen's Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Company said in a statement on Saturday.
After the gas pipeline was blown up, Yemen's LNG company, which is led by France's Total, will temporarily halt its gas exports, the company said in a brief statement which was obtained by Xinhua.
"Gas production has already stopped due to the pipeline bombing but the loss of production is expected to be limited to four cargoes," the statement added.
On Friday night, suspected al-Qaida militants bombed the gas pipeline, just a few hours after U.S. drones raided hideouts of the al-Qaida militants in the insurgents-controlled town of Azzan, 150 km east of Ataq, the provincial capital of Shabwa, a local security official told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.
Blowing up the oil pipeline was apparently a retaliatory attack by the al-Qaida operatives, the official said.
The same oil pipeline to Belhaf port was attacked by al-Qaida militants in October 2011, just few hours after U.S. drones raided al-Qaida strongholds. It took the government more than 10 days to repair it.
In a text message sent to Xinhua on Friday night, an al-Qaida spokesman said the terrorist group was behind the armed attack on the pipeline.
"Our holy war fighters bombed the pipeline in Radhoum area in Shabwa province... in retaliation for the U.S. air strike," the message said.
Government officials confirmed the incident, blaming al-Qaida for the attack.
The officials said the air raid killed at least seven al-Qaida operatives in Azzan, a city overran by al-Qaida since October 2011. However, the group admitted that two of its fighters were killed.
Al-Qaida militants who took advantage of the conflicts in the country have seized several towns in Abyan and Shabwa provinces after severe fighting with government troops backed by U.S. drones.
In January 2009, al-Qaida affiliates in Saudi Arabia and Yemen officially merged and formed Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula ( AQAP).
The group, mainly entrenching itself in Yemen's southern provinces of Abyan and Shabwa, is on the terrorist list of the United States, which considers it as an increasing threat to its national security.
The AQAP underscores the challenges faced by Yemen's new President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi who won support from major Yemeni political forces, the United States and Saudi Arabia.
Hadi is tasked with restoring security and stability to Yemen and putting an end to growing influence of al-Qaida that threatens the daily oil shipping routes in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
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