Three troops killed by roadside bomb in Egypt’s Sinai

By Mahmoud Gharib

CAIRO (AA) – An Egyptian army officer and two soldiers were killed Saturday when their armored vehicle struck a roadside bomb in the northern Sinai Peninsula, a local security source told Anadolu Agency.

The source, who refused to give his name due to restrictions on speaking to media, said that "unidentified gunmen" had detonated an improvised explosive device "while an Egyptian army vehicle was passing through the town of Sheikh Zuweid, leaving an officer and two soldiers dead".

Security forces have since cordoned off the blast site and are now combing the area for the perpetrators.

There has been no claim of responsibility thus far for Saturday’s attack.

Since the ouster of Mohamed Morsi -- Egypt’s first democratically elected leader -- in a 2013 military coup, the northern Sinai Peninsula has been the epicenter of a deadly insurgency against Egyptian security personnel.

Over the last year, the "Welayet Sinai" ("Province of Sinai") group -- said to be linked to the Daesh terrorist organization -- has claimed responsibility for a spate of deadly attacks on Egyptian security forces deployed in the region.