A police officer has been abducted in Egypt's Sinai region in what is seen as a new tactic by the militants in the volatile region north of the country as kidnapping army personnel has been rare so far, Press TV reported.
The state-run Middle East News Agency reported on Sunday that unknown gunmen kidnapped Omar al-Desouki when he was traveling on a bus between Rafah and his home in al-Arish.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the abduction but police say the Ansar Bait al-Maqdis, an al-Qaeda-affiliated militant group, may be behind the case. The militant group has been engaged in numerous attacks in the region since the ouster of Egypt's first democratically-elected President Mohammed Morsi in July 2013.
The abduction has been declared as a case of terrorism with police saying it is conducting more investigations into the matter.
Since Morsi was deposed from power, the military-backed government has launched a massive crackdown on followers of Muslim Brotherhood, the political party of which Morsi is a member.
More than one thousand people have been killed during the pro-Morsi rallies across the country. The government in Cairo continues to arrest scores of people for alleged links with the outlawed party.
The Sinai region has seen a surge in armed militancy against the government. However, abduction of security personnel seems to be a new tactic which can further heighten the simmering tensions in the Arab country.