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A destroyed bus after a suicide attacker hit his explosive-laden car into the bus at the road between the border town of Rafah and the coastal city of el-Arish, Egypt. Photo: AP

Suicide bomber kills 11 off-duty Egyptian soldiers in troubled northern Sinai

Car bomber rams vehicle into one of two buses carrying soldiers back to Cairo, injuring 37

AP

A suicide bomber rammed his explosive-laden car into one of two buses carrying off-duty soldiers in Egypt's turbulent region of northern Sinai yesterday, killing 11 and wounding 37, security and military officials said.

They said the suicide bomber struck when the two buses travelled on the road between the border town of Rafah and the coastal city of el-Arish. The explosion damaged both buses, the officials said.

The soldiers belong to the 2nd Field Army, which is doing most of the fighting against Islamic militants waging an insurgency against security forces in Sinai. The buses were on their way to Cairo, the officials said.

The precious blood of our sons strengthens our resolve to cleanse Egypt
MILITARY SPOKESMAN MOHAMMED ALI

Colonel Mohammed Ahmed Ali, a military spokesman, said the wounded were being treated in military hospitals.

"The precious blood of our sons strengthens our resolve to cleanse Egypt and shield its sons from violence and treacherous terrorism," Ali wrote on his Facebook page.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for yesterday's attack, but suicide car bombings are a signature method by militant groups linked to or inspired by al-Qaeda.

Interim President Adly Mansour denounced the latest Sinai bombing as "a terrorist attack", while the military said it was chasing the perpetrators who fled towards the town of Sheikh Zuwayed.

It was the latest in a series of similar attacks targeting army and police facilities and checkpoints. In August, gunmen pulled 25 police conscripts off minibuses in the Sinai and shot them dead on the side of the main road linking Rafah to el-Arish.

Northern Sinai's violence has occasionally spilled over into cities in the southern part of the peninsula as well as mainland Egypt, targeting policemen, soldiers and politicians.

In September, the interior minister, who is in charge of the police, survived an assassination attempt by a suicide car bomb. Earlier this week, a senior security officer who monitors Islamist groups, including Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood, was shot dead as he drove in Cairo's eastern Nasr City district.

Nasr City is a Brotherhood stronghold and home to several military barracks.

In a video clip posted on the internet, a militant group, Ansar Jerusalem, claimed responsibility for the slaying of the security officer, police Lieutenant Colonel Mohammed Mabrouk. Ansar Jerusalem said it was in retaliation for the recent arrest of female Mursi supporters.

The group had previously claimed responsibility for the attempt on the interior minister's life.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Suicide attacker kills 11 off-duty soldiers in Sinai
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