An army sergeant was killed while defusing an explosive device in Sheikh Zuweid in North Sinai Sunday.
An officer and a soldier were also injured in the attempt to prevent the bomb from exploding. The injured were transported to a military hospital, according to the military spokesman’s statement.
On 25 December, a soldier and an officer were killed, when a bomb went off near Al-Arish Airport, which also left another soldier injured.
The army is establishing a buffer zone in North Sinai governorate along the Gaza border, which now measures 13km in length and 500 metres in width. It is, however, set to be extended to a total width of 5km to ensure that no underground smuggling tunnel could bypass the area.
North Sinai has witnessed numerous attacks on security personnel since the army ousted former president Mohamed Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood-backed government in July 2013.
