"An armed terrorist group" blasted Saturday a gas pipeline in eastern Deir al-Zour province, the latest in a string of sabotaging acts targeting oil and gas pipeline wherever located across Syria, the country's state news agency SANA reported.

The pipeline carries gas between Deir al-Zour and central province of Homs, said SANA, adding that it feeds an electricity generator unit in Homs.

The blast caused the leakage of about 700,000 cubic meters of gas, according to the report.

Quoting an official source from the oil ministry, SANA said that the gas pumping was halted immediately after the blast, adding that maintenance workers have started fixing the pipeline in order to resume the pumping process which is expected to re- operate within the next 72 hours.

At least nine pipelines have been targeted since the eruption of unrest in Syria in mid March last year. Syria held what it called "saboteurs" responsible for the attacks.

Earlier in January, Syrian Oil Minister Sufian Allaw said that the terrorist acts carried out by armed groups against oil and gas pipelines and other oil institutions, in addition to the European Union's sanctions imposed on Syrian oil, have extremely damaged Syria's oil sector, totaling the damage at 2 billion U.S. dollars.

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