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EL-ARISH, Egypt -afrasianet -- Radical Salafist militants shot dead two Egyptian police officers and injured another in the northern Sinai early Sunday, security officials said.

The group launched a surprise ambush on a police patrol in the south of El-Arish city at daybreak, using pick-up vehicles and machine-guns, the officials said.

They opened fire, killing Muhammad Abdul-Latif Eid, 22, and Muhammad Fawzi Sharaf, 22, by gunshots to the head.

Ahmad Ramadan was hit in the thigh and was evacuated to hospital, they added. The officers belong to Egypt's Central Security Forces.

A senior member of the military leadership in Sinai described the assault as a "dangerous terrorist attack reflecting how dangerous the situation in Sinai Peninsula is."

The Egyptian government's authority in Sinai has weakened since the fall of Hosni Mubarak in February 2011. On Friday, Egyptian security officials seized three Palestinian men who entered Sinai from Gaza, who they described as militants linked to the Popular Resistance Brigades.

Last week, Egyptian officials announced plans to increase security in the area.

Maj.-Gen. Ahmad Jamal said that the interior ministry decided to send 2,000 officers and soldiers from the special forces to the north of Sinai in order to increase security control of the area, in particular to protect the peninsula's natural gas line.