Bedouin Gunmen Kidnap Two Egyptian Police Officers

In yet another demonstration that the Egyptian Sinai peninsula is growing increasingly unstable, Bedouin gunmen kidnapped two police officers. Egyptian officials said the gunmen ambushed an ambulance on a main road. One of the police officers had fallen ill and called an ambulance, and his colleague was traveling with him. They said they believed the incident was an act of revenge after a dispute between a police officer and a Bedouin man.

The Egyptian government has lost control over the large, mostly-empty Sinai, which Israel returned to Egypt as part of a peace treaty more than 20 years ago. It has become a conduit for smuggling drugs and weapons. Last year, armed gunmen attacked an Egyptian military base, killing 16 soldiers.