At least 25 Egyptian troops are dead when insurgents with rocket-propelled grenades attacked them in Northern Sinai, near the Gaza Strip.

The soldiers were driving through the town of Rafah in two buses in a particularly volatile part of Sinai.  Unknown insurgents opened fire with the RPGs.  Egypt immediately shut the border crossing to Gaza until further notice.

Since the 3 July military overthrow of President Mohammed Morsi, Sinai has suffered almost daily attacks by suspected Islamists.  This attack was the deadliest in the area in years. Interim President Adly Mansour declared three days of national mourning for the attacks. 

More than 830 people, including 102 police and soldiers, have been killed since last week when the military cleared away protest camps set-up by members of the Muslim Brother supporting Morsi. 

The European Union will meet on Wednesday to decide if its will cut some of the billions of financial aid it sends to Egypt.  The US cancelled some joint military exercises, and President Obama is under a some pressure to cut US$1.3 Billion in aid that mostly benefits the military, which then turns around and spends the cash on American military products.