QUETTA: Unidentified armed men blew up a pipeline linking the Sui gas plant to insurgency-hit Balochistan's Paish Bogi gas wells on Monday.

When contacted, Media Manager Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) Anayatullah Ismail confirmed that unknown men had blown up a pipeline supplying gas to a purification plant from gas wells in Dera Bugti’s Paish Bogi area.

He said the incident would not affect gas supply to Balochistan, particularly Quetta.

Law enforcing agencies and Levies Force personnel immediately cordoned off the affected site.

The LEA teams had commenced a search operation to trace out and arrest the culprits.

A case was also registered against unknown accused and further investigation into the incident was underway.

Impoverished Balochistan, which borders Iran and Afghanistan, has been wracked by an insurgency waged by ethnic Baloch tribes seeking more political rights and a greater share of profits from the region’s natural resources.

Hundreds of people have died in violence ripping through the province since the insurgency flared in late 2004.

The region has also been hit by attacks blamed on Taliban militants, although sabotage of gas pipelines are a trademark of separatist militants.