Bomb attack kills four Egyptian security personnel in North Sinai

RAFAH, Egypt, Dec. 8 (UPI) -- A roadside bombing killed four Egyptian security personnel Tuesday in the Sinai Peninsula border town of Rafah.

Egypt's state-run Ahram Online quoted security sources as saying Islamist militants detonated the device as an armored vehicle passed by near the center of the city.

Xinhua news agency, also quoting a local security source, reported the attack occurred near a hospital in the town, which borders the Gaza Strip and Israel.

Ever since former President Mohamed Morsi was overthrown in 2013, the Egyptian military has battled Islamist militants in North Sinai -- including the Islamic State-affiliated Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, which has re-branded itself as the "Sinai Province."

Hundreds of combatants have been killed on both sides.

The IS affiliate claimed responsibility for a coordinated attack at a hotel in the North Sinai town of al-Arish late last month. Two judges, four police officers and a bystander were killed, as were all three attackers.

In late October, the group said it was behind a bomb attack on a Russian passenger jet that set out from an airport in Sharm el-Sheikh, at the southern tip of the peninsula. Investigators said the blast was so powerful, it caused the aircraft to break up in mid-air, killing all 224 people on board.