South Korean tourists killed in blast on Egyptian-Israeli border

CAIRO — At least three people were killed Sunday and more than a dozen injured in a bomb blast near Egypt’s border with Israel, according to Egyptian state media reports.

The explosion occurred on a bus that was carrying 33 tourists from South Korea from the Egyptian city of St. Catherine to the Israeli border, state news agency MENA reported. The agency said at least three people were killed and 14 injured.

The motivations of the attack were unknown.

Israeli police spokesman Mickey Rosenfeld said the blast occurred a third of a mile from the Taba border crossing with Israel, which is near the Israeli resort city of Eilat.

Rosenfeld said Israeli police and medical personnel were stationed at the border and were prepared to take victims to Israeli hospitals if Egyptian authorities asked for assistance.

Both sides of the crossing have been closed.

While no groups have taken responsibility for the bombing, Aviv Oreg, a security consultant and former intelligence officer for the Israel Defense Forces, said the location of the attack suggests it was aimed at Israel.

Oreg said he believes the attack was carried out by one of a number of terrorist groups linked to Al Qaeda operating in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula. Recent Israeli security measures, including completion of a barrier last year along the border with Egypt, have made it difficult for terror groups to enter the country, Oreg said.

“This was because he could not get in to Israel,” he said. “Of course they will do whatever they can to get new modus operandi to attack Israel.”

[For the record, 9:19 a.m., Feb. 16: A previous version of this post referred to the construction last year of a border barrier. The barrier was completed last year but had been under construction for several years.]

kate.linthicum@latimes.com

Twitter: @katelinthicum

Special correspondent Hassan reported from Cairo and staff writer Linthicum from Jerusalem.