At least three people were killed and 17 wounded early on Monday in Egypt's North Sinai province when suspected militants used rocket-propelled grenades to attack a bus carrying workers employed at a cement factory, security and medical sources said.

They said the bus was fired on in the city of El Arish, at the centre of a sharp rise in Islamist militant attacks in the lawless region bordering Israel and the Gaza Strip since Egypt's President Mohamed Morsi was ousted by the military on July 3.

Hardline Islamist groups based in North Sinai have intensified attacks on police and soldiers over the past two years, exploiting a security and political vacuum following the 2011 uprising that ousted autocratic President Hosni Mubarak.

The violence has spiked again since Morsi's overthrow, and militants have attacked security checkpoints and other targets on an almost daily basis, killing at least 13 people and wounding dozens.

Presented by Adam Justice

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