Egyptian soldiers guarding Egypt-Gaza border
Egyptian soldiers guarding Egypt-Gaza borderFlash 90

Gunmen killed two Egyptian soldiers and a policeman on Sunday in three separate attacks in the restive Sinai peninsula, which borders Israel, security and medical sources told Agence France Presse.

The unidentified assailants in the town of El-Arish shot dead one soldier in front of the television and broadcasting building and another who was on guard duty, and killed the policeman in an attack on a police station, a security source said.

The attack on the broadcasting and television building also wounded two other soldiers, medical sources said.

Since the military coup that toppled Islamist president Mohamed Morsi on July 3 after massive nationwide protests, Islamist terrorist groups have launched almost daily attacks on troops and police in the Sinai.

Sunday's attacks bring to 18 the number of security forces personnel killed – 14 policemen and four soldiers – since Morsi's ouster.

A number of Egyptian Christians were also killed in the region, including a priest gunned down in broad daylight and a man who was kidnapped and decapitated five days later.

Analysts attribute the Sinai violence to Islamist extremists seeking to take advantage of the political insecurity in the country after Morsi's ouster.

The Egyptian army has been carrying out a major operation to regain control of the Sinai Peninsula in recent days.

Armored forces commander Major-General Hamdi Othman has declared the operation a success. “Our forces have taken control of all of Sinai,” he announced earlier Sunday. The three killings indicate that the success has been partial at best.