Egypt says Sinai blast not suicide attack

Aug 19, 2011, 10:49 GMT

Cairo - A bomb exploded Friday in the Egyptian region of Sinai near the border with Israel, but caused no casualties, an Egyptian army source said, contradicting earlier accounts of a suicide bomber killing a number of soldiers.

The source, speaking on condition of anonymity, denied that the explosion was caused by a suicide bomber or was the 'result of a hostile act' from Israel or by attackers.

Further details were not yet available after Cairo security sources earlier had reported a number of Egyptian soldiers killed and wounded in a suicide bombing, near the border with Israel.

Tensions have mounted along Egypt's borders with Israel and the Gaza Strip after deadly attacks in southern Israel on Thursday.

Three Egyptian policemen were killed in an Israeli airstrike near the Egyptian border early Friday, the official al-Ahram newspaper reported on its website.

The report quoted a military source as saying that the plane was targeting infiltrators who crossed into the Egyptian town of Rafah.

Authorities at Cairo airport tightened security around the office of the Israeli carrier El Al on Friday for fear of reprisals over the border killings, sources at the airport said.

The Egyptian army has been fighting gunmen and suspected terrorists in a massive-scale crackdown in the Sinai Peninsula since August 12.