Bomb hits Egypt security headquarters in Sinai

Cairo: Egyptian officials say a massive explosion, possibly from a car bomb, has hit the security headquarters in a southern Sinai town, killing two people and wounding 48.

The security officials say the attack on Monday in the town of Al Tour significantly damaged the four-storey building and set off small fires.

They say the death toll was likely to rise as rescue workers and residents search for victims under the rubble. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the media.

Islamist militants, some with Al Qaida links, have been targeting security forces daily in northern Sinai in what has increasingly become a full-fledged insurgency.

But the southern part of the strategic peninsula, which includes the popular diving resort of Sharm Al Shaikh, has been peaceful.

Earlier in the day, gunmen killed five Egyptian soldiers in an attack on an army patrol near the Suez Canal city of Ismailiya on Monday, security officials said.

The attack took place north of the city, where suspected militants have repeatedly targeted security forces in recent weeks, the officials said.

This came three days after masked gunmen killed two soldiers on a desert road between Ismailiya and Cairo.

The Suez Canal city and the areas around it have seen regular attacks on police and military personnel, especially since the military toppled Islamist president Mohammad Mursi on July 3.

More than 100 policemen have been killed across Egypt in attacks and clashes since Mursi’s ouster.

The military has been conducting an extensive operation in the Sinai peninsula east of the Suez Canal to crack down on Islamist militants, who have killed dozens of soldiers and policemen.