Roadside bomb hits police bus in Egypt's Sinai

Egyptian security officials say suspected Islamic militants have set off a roadside bomb in the Sinai Peninsula as a bus full of police conscripts was driving by, wounding nine of them.

Egyptian security officials say suspected Islamic militants have set off a roadside bomb in the Sinai Peninsula as a bus full of police conscripts was driving by, wounding nine of them.

Monday's ambush on the road outside the town of Rafah, on the border with the Gaza Strip, comes amid a major counterinsurgency operation by Egypt's military in the lawless desert region.

The military offensive followed a surge of attacks by insurgents triggered by the army's July 3 overthrow of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi and subsequent violence.

The worst insurgent attack in Sinai was an Aug. 19 ambush in which militants pulled 25 police conscripts off minibuses and shot them dead.

The bus bombed Monday had been escorted by an armored car. The bomb was set off by remote control, the officials say.

Related Stories

No stories found.
The New Indian Express
www.newindianexpress.com