Blast Hits Oil Pipeline in Homs as Regime, Opposition Trade Accusations

An explosion struck an oil pipeline in the Syrian protest city of Homs on Wednesday, with activists saying government forces bombed it from the air and the regime blaming "terrorists."

"Around 6:00 am (0400 GMT), two military planes bombed a pipeline located on the edge of Baba Amr neighborhood," Hadi Abdullah, of the opposition General Commission of the Syrian Revolution, told Agence France Presse, citing witnesses.

The blast sent up columns of black smoke over the central city, in what Abdullah said was the third such attack on the same pipeline, although this was the first time it was targeted from the air.

The official SANA news agency blamed the attack on "armed terrorist groups."

The General Commission said in a statement that the pipeline runs through Baba Amr, which has born the brunt of a sustained assault on Homs by regime forces since February 4.

Videos uploaded by activists on the Internet purporting to be from Homs showed thick plumes of black smoke over the city.

The regime of President Bashar Assad has attributed several similar attacks to foreign-backed "terrorists,” but the opposition accuses it of destroying energy infrastructure to punish dissenters.

The assault on Homs has left at least 300 people dead, according to the United Nations.