Blast kills army officer inspecting car in Egypt’s Sinai

EL-ARISH, Egypt – Egyptian security officials say a colonel has been killed in central Sinai after explosives inside an empty vehicle he was inspecting detonated.

The officials said incident Friday took place at the foot of Jabal al-Halal mountain also wounded another army officer.

They said a separate explosion wounded an army conscript in Sheikh Zuweid town. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media.

Egypt has been struggling to contain a years-long Islamic insurgency in the turbulent Sinai region, the epicenter of a years-long Islamic insurgency spearheaded by the Islamic State group’s local affiliate.

In February, Egypt began a massive anti-militant operation mainly focused on Sinai as well as parts of Egypt’s Nile Delta and the Western Desert along the porous border with Libya.