US condemns deadly terror attacks in Egypt

The US condemned the deadly attacks in Egypt's North Sinai province that has so far left at least 26 Egyptians dead, and pledged to continue support for the Egyptian government's anti-terrorism efforts.

"A prosperous and strong Egypt requires an environment of security and stability, and the United States remains steadfast in its support of the Egyptian government's efforts to combat the threat of terrorism in Egypt as part of our continuing commitment to the strategic partnership between our two countries," Xinhua reported citing a statement issued by the US State Department Thursday.

A source in the province told the state TV earlier that ten mortar shells and a car bomb targeted the North Sinai Security Department headquarters and army detachment 101, destroying a large part of the department.

Egypt has recently extended a curfew in many parts of North Sinai for another three months due to the unstable security conditions in the area and the recurrent terrorist attacks targeting security men and facilities.

Anti-security attacks started across Egypt after the ouster of Islamist President Mohamed Morsi by the military in July 2013, and the subsequent crackdown on his supporters left about 1,000 killed and led to a similar number of arrests.

Most of the anti-security attacks were claimed by the Sinai-based Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis group, affiliated to the Islamic State (IS) militant group in Iraq and Syria.