QUETTA, Feb 20: Tribesmen blew up a pipeline in the Pir Koh gas field on Monday, while police in Quetta thwarted an attempt to destroy another pipeline supplying gas to Quetta city, officials said here.

Armed men planted a bomb under the pipeline supplying gas to the Pir Koh gas plant from well No 19 and detonated it on Monday morning.

The engineers had already closed the plant due to disruption of gas supply to the plant from at least 7 gas wells following attacks by tribesmen. Sources said that repair work on the ruptured pipelines in Loti and Pir Koh could not be started due to the presence of landmines in the area.

Officials said that armed tribesmen attacked a 132-KV transmission line with seven rockets in Kahan area of Kohlu district. A rocket hit a transmission tower and disrupted power supply to the area.

They said that tribesmen also fired rockets in Sangsilla and Karmo Wadh areas at FC posts but no damage was reported. The FC seized an anti-tank gun 75-RR and 4 Russian-made missiles from the Sangsilla area.