QUETTA: Suspected militants blew up a 16 inch gas pipeline in Balochistan's volatile Dera Bugti district on Wednesday, an official said.

A security official who requested anonymity since he was not authorised to speak to media told Dawn.com that militants had planted an improvised explosive device (IED) close to a gas pipeline in the Pir Koh area of Dera Bugti.

He said the IED exploded with a considerably loud bang blowing up 16 inch diameter gas pipeline in the area.

"Gas supply to Sui purification plant suspended after the blast," he said.

Roaring flames of fire could be witnessed from quite far away, the official added.

Personnel of Frontier Corps, a para-military force, reached the spot and cordoned off the area to launch a probe into the incident.

The official said that repair of the gas pipeline would take a couple of days since the area was dangerous.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack. However, the official suspected the Baloch insurgents operating in the area.

Baloch militants in the area have been targeting vital national installations and security forces for last more than eight years. Dera Bugti is the hometown of elderly Baloch leader Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti who was killed in an operation on August 26, 2006 in Balochistan's Kohlu district.