Hamas condemns attack in Egypt's Sinai
The Islamic militant Hamas group, which rules the Gaza Strip, has denounced the attack earlier in the day in Egypt's Sinai as a "terrorist" assault.
The condemnation came just hours after Islamic militants killed 23 Egyptian troops and wounded 33 at a checkpoint near Egypt's border with Gaza on Friday.
Hamas' spokesman Fawzi Barhoum says the group considers the attack in Sinai "a criminal, a terrorist, and a cowardly attack that doesn't target Egypt only, but the security and stability of the entire Arab nation."
Hamas has been trying to improve ties with neighboring Egypt and is currently creating a buffer zone on its side of the Gaza-Egypt border to curb militant crossings.
Egypt has accused Hamas of fomenting unrest in the region and aiding the insurgency in the northern Sinai Peninsula, especially in the aftermath of the 2013 ouster of Islamic President Mohammed Morsi, who hails from the Muslim Brotherhood organization. The Brotherhood is considered the mother group of Hamas.
Egypt and Israel have imposed a blockade on Gaza since Hamas seized power there in 2007.
