Three Egyptian civilians were killed and two injured Monday in a land mine explosion in central Sinai, Al-Ahram Arabic website reported.



Security sources in North Sinai told Al-Ahram that the victims' car exploded while passing through El-Garayeh valley.



Two of those killed were children.



The injured have been transferred to hospital.



Land mines constitute a serious problem in Egypt's Western Desert and Sinai Peninsula, where they remain after a series of 20th century wars against Israel.



Egypt is considered one of the world's most contaminated countries in terms of the number of mines and explosive war remnants scattered across its territory.



Most of the mines are remnants of World War II, although some in the Suez area are left over from Egypt's wars with Israel.



Over the past 20 years, 3,200 people have died and 4,723 have been handicapped in mine-related accidents in the country, according to the Journal of Explosive Remnants of War and Mine Action.



https://english.ahram.org.eg/News/261324.aspx