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Egypt closes Gaza border after soldier killed in Sinai

Guards stand watch at the Rafah crossing with Egypt in the southern Gaza Strip on July 5, 2013. Egyptian army closed the Rafah border crossing with Gaza after Egyptian Islamist militants fired rockets and directed heavy machine gun fire at a police base the previous day in the restive Sinai peninsula, security officials and witnesses said.UPI/Ismael Mohamad
1 of 2 | Guards stand watch at the Rafah crossing with Egypt in the southern Gaza Strip on July 5, 2013. Egyptian army closed the Rafah border crossing with Gaza after Egyptian Islamist militants fired rockets and directed heavy machine gun fire at a police base the previous day in the restive Sinai peninsula, security officials and witnesses said.UPI/Ismael Mohamad | License Photo

GAZA, July 5 (UPI) -- The Egyptian Army closed the Rafah Crossing with Gaza after a soldier was killed early Friday in Sinai, allegedly by Islamic militants, officials said.

Maher Abu Sabha, the Palestinian official in charge of border crossings, said the Palestinian Authority was notified Rafah would be closed until further notice, the Ma'an news agency reported. Rafah is Gaza's only exit for most of its residents because the border with Israel is generally closed.

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Militants fired rockets and machine guns at a checkpoint near the village of al-Gura in the northern Sinai and at a police station, witnesses said. Two soldiers were wounded in the attacks and one was killed.

The militants accuse the Egyptian military of a coup against former President Mohamed Morsi, who was ousted this week.

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