03 May 2004	Monday	12 Rabi-ul-Awwal 1425

JACOBABAD, May 2: A rocket attack reported to have been carried out by a 'group of 15 miscreants' damaged a 20-inch diameter gas pipeline near the village of Hajano in the Tangwani area on Sunday.

Police and Rangers personnel cordoned off the area after the attack. The damage to the pipeline affected the supply of gas to several cities in Punjab and Sindh.

Our Sukkur correspondent adds: An explosion which damaged the pipeline left a 30-foot crater. Gas supply was restored to Karachi, Hyderabad, Dadu, Sukkur, Shikarpur, Nawabshah and various cities of Punjab from an alternative line, one hour after the explosion.

A heavy contingent of police from the Tangwani, Risaldar and Bhitai Colony police stations and Frontier Corps and Rangers personnel rushed to the site of the blast. The Sui Southern Gas Company officials also visited the area.

SSGC deputy managing director Ali Anwar Keerio said that the pipeline had been destroyed by a bomb blast. However, Jacobabad DPO Din Mohammad Baloch, who arrived at the place along with a bomb disposal squad, said the explosion had been caused by a technical fault.

Bomb disposal squad inspector M. Tahir also blamed a technical fault for the explosion. Officials of the gas company said that work to repair the pipeline would be completed in about 72 hours.