Gunmen rob fuel truck in Sinai

Four armed men robbed a fuel truck belonging to international peacekeeping forces in Egypt's Sinai on Monday, a security official said. An Egyptian security officer told Ma'an that gunmen stopped the truck in Sheikh Zuweid, a few kilometers from Gaza, and stole 50,000 liters of fuel. They stole the fuel to smuggle it into the Gaza Strip, the official said. The Egyptian government's authority in Sinai has weakened since the fall of Hosni Mubarak in February 2011 and on Sunday, Egyptian officials announced plans to increase security. 2,000 officers, soldiers head to Sinai Maj.-Gen. Ahmad Jamal said that the interior ministry decided to send 2,000 officers and soldiers from the special forces to the north of Sinai in order to increase security control of the area. Jamal added that his forces would also send military vehicles including armored vehicles and weapons in coordination with the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces. He says the ministry has already sent 150 officers and the rest will be sent soon. The main reason for sending them is to implement security plans especially protecting the natural gas line, he said. An explosion hit the pipeline carrying gas to Israel and Jordan on Monday for 14th time since the uprising against Mubarak. No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks. The pipeline has been shut since an explosion on Feb. 5.