3 children killed by explosive device in Egypt’s Sinai

By Khaled al-Jayoush

CAIRO

Three children were killed by an explosive device that went off in the city of Al-Arish in Egypt's restive Sinai Peninsula, according to a local security source.

A group of children in Al-Arish’s village of Al-Sabeel discovered the device late Tuesday, which exploded when they touched it, the source said on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to media.

No group has claimed responsibility for planting the device.

Sinai has remained at the epicenter of a deadly militant insurgency since mid-2013, when Mohamed Morsi -- Egypt’s first freely-elected president -- was ousted and imprisoned in a military coup.

Since then, hundreds of Egyptian security personnel have been killed across the peninsula, which shares borders with both Israel and the blockaded Gaza Strip.

Egyptian security forces, meanwhile, continue to wage a fierce campaign -- involving elements of both the police and army -- against what they describe as Sinai-based "terrorist groups".