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There was no
immediate claim of responsibility for the attack on the coast of
northern Sinai, an area bordering Israel and the Gaza Strip.
Such incidents at sea are rare, though Egypt is battling an
Islamist insurgency in the region. On July 1, 100 militants and
at least 17 members of the security forces were killed in a
single day of clashes.
"The (coastguard) launch crew suspected the movements of some
terrorist elements on the coast, so it chased (them) and
exchanged gunfire, which led to the launch catching fire without
loss of life," said the statement posted to Facebook.
Military sources said the suspected militants had fled after
firing on the vessel.
A Reuters witness in Gaza saw a plume of dark grey smoke rising
from a boat off the coast. Other witnesses in the Palestinian
enclave said they heard explosions and gunfire.
An Israeli military spokeswoman said Israel was not involved in
the incident and had not been asked to assist.
In November, four assailants were killed and 32 people detained
when gunmen in a fishing boat opened fired on an Egyptian naval
launch north of Damietta port, near the Suez Canal and west of
Thursday's incident.
(Reporting by Stephen Kalin; Additional reporting by Nidal
al-Mughrabi and Salah Salem in Gaza and Ori Lewis in Jerusalem;
Editing by Mark Trevelyan)
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