1 killed, 8 injured in clashes in Egypt's Sinai

CAIRO - One soldier was killed and eight people, including six soldiers and two civilians, were wounded Sunday in an attack staged by militants on a security building in Egypt's North Sinai governorate, the army said in a televised statement.

Some "criminals and ultra-hardline Islamists" started early Sunday to randomly shoot a security headquarters building near Mahdia village, some 15 km south of Sheikh Zayed city, with automatic guns, RPGs and other guns, according to army spokesman Ahmed Mohamed Ali.

Two civilians, a 10-year-old girl and an old woman, were injured when clashes erupted between the army forces and the militants, said Ali.

He added that 10 members of the group of "criminals and Islamists" were arrested.

One soldier was dead due to serious injury in his kidney following a fire shooting, said official news agency MENA.

The military leadership made a statement about the progress of the military operation conducted in North Sinai, to clarify the information circulated by media, according to Ali.

"Members of the armed forces in cooperation with the civil police and members of the air forces have launched a security campaign to target criminal and extremist elements in North Sinai, " said the statement.

The statement added that the air forces are monitoring the militants' hideouts to assist the police to control them.

Ali added that the armed forces are running the operation in Sinai according to existing rules in regard to ensuring the safety of civilians.

"Weapons for weapons" is the military forces' approach, Ali said, "No matter what the sacrifices may be, we are determined to achieve the security and safety of our nation."