Sanaa , Yemen ( CNN ) -- An oil pipeline struck by an explosion in a volatile region of southern Yemen Tuesday is operated by a South Korean company , Yonhap news agency reported , citing local authorities and company officials . Officials believe attackers might have carried out a strike that caused a leak in the 204-kilometer pipeline operated by the state-owned Korea National Oil Corp ( KNOC ) . The blast took place in an oil field in Shabwa province that produces 10,000 barrels of oil a day , the agency reported . Explosives were found near the site and news reports are linking al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula ( AQAP ) to the incident . Yonhap says KNOC has been developing oil fields on four sites in Yemen since 2007 , and the Korean Embassy in Yemen says it is working with local authorities to come up with a cause of the blast . U.S. officials believe that AQAP is behind the recent plot to send bombs from Yemen to the United States and the pipeline incident comes as troops attempt to capture U.S.-born militant Anwar al-Awlaki in the Shabwa region . The group is based in Yemen , which has emerged as a major operating base for al Qaeda and other terror groups . Yemeni authorities are intensifying operations to capture U.S.-born al-Awlaki , according to a senior Yemeni government official , who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media . Al-Awlaki -- who has not been linked to the recent plot -- is regarded by the United States as a terrorist and propagandist who has become an important operational figure within AQAP . U.S. officials have confirmed that he is on a CIA and military hit list to be captured or killed .
The incident occurred in Shabwa province . A statement from the provincial government said that a group of armed men attacked an army patrol and killed two soldiers on Saturday morning.