CAIRO/JERUSALEM (Reuters) – An explosion was heard and heavy smoke and dust were seen rising early on Friday in an Egyptian Red Sea resort town near the Israeli border, a witness told Reuters.
The Israeli military said it was aware of a security incident around the town of Taba, saying it unfolded “outside of our border”.
Egypt’s Al Qahera News TV said five people were wounded in the blast and that a residential building was damaged. It broadcast images of the blast on live television.
Citing sources, Al Qahera reported the blast was related to ongoing fighting between Israel and Gaza militants.
It was not immediately clear what caused the blast. Reuters was not immediately able to confirm reports of injuries.
Taba is a resort town on the Red Sea that is popular with tourists. It sits just opposite Israel’s Red Sea port city of Eilat, over 350 kilometres (220 miles) from Gaza.
(Reporting by Emily Rose in Jerusalem, Nafisa Eltahir, Ahmed Tolba and Hatem Maher in Cairo and Yusri Mohamed in Ismailia, Egypt; writing by Rami Ayyub; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
