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Army lieutenant and civilian injured in Sinai blast - source
Smoke rises after a house is blown up during a military operation by Egyptian security forces in the Egyptian city of Rafah, near the border with southern Gaza Strip October 29, 2014. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem
CAIRO, Nov 1 (Aswat Masriya) - An army lieutenant and a civilian were injured Saturday when a roadside bomb exploded in one of the army's armored vehicles in Kharouba area along the Arish-Rafah international road, a security source in the army said.
Unidentified perpetrators timed the placement of the bomb with the launch of the security forces' combing operations to pursue "extremists", the source told Aswat Masriya. The bomb went off as the forces were passing.
On Friday, six armed forces personnel were injured in an explosion which hit an armoured vehicle in North Sinai's al-Arish, said the armed forces spokesman.
A security source who preferred to remain anonymous told Aswat Masriya that the number of those injured in the explosion, which occurred on the road to the Arish Airport, rose to seven. The source said that the injured included two officers, and two conscripts who went into coma after amputating their legs.
Egypt's security forces have intensified their security measures in North Sinai in reaction to repeated militant attacks that target army and police officials, which rose significantly since the ouster of Islamist President Mohamed Mursi last year. The attacks soon expanded to other areas of the country, including the capital.
At least 30 military personnel were killed in a suicide blast which targeted a security checkpoint in Sinai's Sheikh Zuweid last Friday. The explosion also caused damage to two military vehicles.
Shortly afterwards, a separate attack by unidentified gunmen on a security checkpoint in Arish killed three more security personnel.
President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi declared a three-month state of emergency and a nighttime curfew in parts of the Sinai Peninsula in response to the attacks.
Egypt's cabinet issued on Wednesday a decision to clear 500 metres of the border area with the Palestinian Gaza Strip of civilians to be able to target militants in the region, vowing to provide compensation for those evicted. The decision allows the forcible seizure of the property of those who refuse to comply.
