Gunmen kill four Egyptian soldiers near Rafah

Unknown gunmen killed four Egyptian soldiers in North Sinai on Saturday, the official MENA news agency reported.

According to a security source quoted by MENA, the gunmen were “unidentified takfiris elements”. They forced the central security conscripts, who were dressed in civilian clothing, to step out of the vehicle and then shot them dead.

The victims were on their way back from holiday, the source added.

The assailants, driving an SUV, were able to escape.

The attack came hours after two civilians have been killed in a bomb blast in October 6 city in Cairo.

The attacks come one month after the election of ex-army chief Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi as president, less than one year after his ouster of his civilian predecessor Mohamed Morsi.

Sinai-based Jihadist groups regularly announce responsibility for attacks targeting soldiers. However, Egyptian authorities accuse the Muslim Brotherhood of involvement in these attacks despite the group’s assertion that it adheres to peaceful resistance of the coup.

The Brotherhood has previously accused General Sisi of orchestrating these attacks.