DHAKA: At least 10 Egyptian soldiers are reported killed and several more wounded in a car bomb attack near the North Sinai city of el-Arish.

Al-Masri al-Youm newspaper said a convoy of buses carrying infantry soldiers was hit by a roadside bomb as it moved through the Kharouba area.

The death toll was likely to rise, a security source said, reports the BBC.

There has been a spate of attacks on the military since Islamist president Mohammed Mursi was ousted in July.

Security forces recently launched an offensive against Islamist militants in the Sinai Peninsula.

The bombing on the road from Rafah to el-Arish is thought to be the bloodiest attack on the military since Mursi was deposed.

Twenty-six soldiers were wounded in the explosion, al-Ahram website reported.

BDST: 1401 HRS, NOV 20, 2013
RoR/BSK