Hamza Hendawi
CAIRO // 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 militant waging an insurgency against security forces in Sinai. The buses were on their way to Cairo, the officials said.
Col 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,” Col Ali wrote on his Facebook page.
The northern Sinai region, which borders Gaza and Israel, has been restless for years, but attacks have grown more frequent and deadlier since the July removal of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi.
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.
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 occasionally has spilt 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 Mr Morsi’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 Tuesday on the internet, a militant group, Ansar Jerusalem, claimed responsibility for this week’s slaying of the security officer, police Lt Col Mohammed Mabrouk said.
Meanwhile, clashes late on Tuesday between revolutionary youths opposed to military rule and police killed a teenager and wounded 41, said Ahmed El Ansari, head of Egypt’s emergency services. He said the teenager suffered a head wound from a birdshot pellet and died while being taken to hospital.
The violence in Cairo’s famed Tahrir Square followed day-long protests marking the second anniversary of clashes between protesters and police on an adjacent street. A joint police and army contingent cleared the square of protesters late on Tuesday.
* Associated Press
