2 policemen kidnapped in Egypt's Sinai

Two Egyptian policemen were kidnapped Wednesday in Saint Catherine city of South Sinai governorate by some militants, the head of South Sinai Ambulance told Xinhua. Khaled Abu Hashem said the policemen " were abducted on their way to Sharm al-Shaiekh International Hospital in an ambulance due to a health problem of one of them." The incident was apparently revenge against a policeman who quarreled with a Bedouin at a gas station in Saint Catherine, Abu Hashem added. Talks with South Sinai chieftains for the release of the abducted are underway. Since the turmoil in early 2011, the security situation in Sinai has been deteriorating. Hard-line Islamists belonging to Jihad movements have attacked police stations and local Bedouins have committed several kidnappings of foreign tourists. On May 16, a group of militants abducted seven military and police recruits in North Sinai's Green Valley, demanding the release of their family members and affiliates imprisoned over terrorist attacks. The soldiers were released on May 22, six days after the abduction.