Islamist gunmen attack Sinai airport

Islamist gunmen open fire on El Arish airport in Egypt’s troubled Sinai Peninsula and at three military checkpoints early on Friday, state television reported.

The attackers fired rocket-propelled grenades at the army checkpoints outside the airport, close to the border with the Gaza Strip and Israel, in the latest of a string of security incidents in the lawless region, security sources said.

It was not clear whether the coordinated attack on several army positions was in response to the military overthrow of Islamist President Mohamed Mursi in Cairo on Wednesday.

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