A suspected attack on a pipeline in Syria caused a nationwide blackout overnight, the Syrian state news agency quoted ministers as saying Monday.
Electricity Minister Mohammad Zuhair Kharbutli said that an explosion took place at the Arab gas pipeline between the areas of Al-Dumair and Adraa on the outskirts of Damascus causing a major blackout in Syria.
Some power stations were eventually reconnected and power provided to vital infrastructure, he said, adding that by dawn electricity was gradually returning to several provinces.
The oil minister said the blast on the main pipeline supplying southern Syria "may have been caused by a terrorist act" but he provided no further details.
Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Ali Ghanem, said that the explosion took place on the main pipeline that feeds the southern region adding that a terrorist act may be to blame.
In a phone call with the Syrian television, he said that repairs would begin immediately to restore services as soon as possible.
