Egyptian security officials say saboteurs have blown up a natural gas pipeline station that distributed supplies to Israel and Jordan.
The officials say Tuesday's massive, pre-dawn blast occurred close to the town of El-Arish in the northern Sinai Peninsula, near the Israeli border. The attack was the fourth on pipelines in Sinai since February, and the second in as many weeks.
In political developments Monday, Egyptian Prime Minister Essam Sharaf said in a televised address that he will reshuffle his Cabinet within a week. But his statement was rejected by crowds on the streets of three major cities who were protesting the slow pace of reforms and delays in prosecuting the country's former president.
Demonstrators listening to Mr. Sharaf's speech on loudspeakers in Cairo's Tahrir Square dismissed his statement, in which he set a July 15 deadline to purge senior police officers involved in crimes against pro-democracy activists. The prime minister also said provincial governors will be reshuffled to meet public demands.
Separate sit-ins by hundreds of people took place in the cities of Alexandria and Suez, extending rallies that began Friday. In Cairo, some protesters have camped out in Tahrir Square, erecting tents and disrupting traffic.
Mr. Sharaf's reform proposals are meeting stiff resistance from powerful factions within Egypt's security apparatus.
The Associated Press says Interior Minister Mansour El-Issawi has defied Mr. Sharaf's order to fire 400 police officers accused of killing protesters. AP quotes him as saying the move would be illegal. Demonstrators are calling for el-Issawi to resign.
Also Monday, Egyptian demonstrators in Suez detained four U.S. nationals and an Egyptian translator, handing them over to military police. Security officials said some of those arrested were taking photographs in a restricted zone near the Suez Canal while others took notes, suggesting they may be journalists.
U.S. officials have not commented on the reports.