Two Brazilian tourists kidnapped in Egypt's Sinai.

Armed tribesmen on Sunday kidnapped two Brazilian women and their Egyptian tour guide as they were traveling on a bus near Mount Sinai, AP reported.

The head of security in Egypt's south Sinai Peninsula, Mahmoud Hefnawi, said six armed men with covered faces approached the tour bus carrying the Brazilian women and took them and their guide off the bus. The remaining passengers were allowed to go.

Tribesmen in the area have in the past abducted tourists to pressure Egyptian authorities to release their own detained relatives.

An Egyptian official said the abductors were identified as Bedouins from the area who have a relative detained on possession of drugs and illegal weapons. He spoke on condition of anonymity in line with police rules.

Sunday's abduction was the latest in a series of kidnappings in Sinai, which has seen a surge in lawlessness over the last year.

Last month, three South Korean women and separately two American women were kidnapped near the monastery. They were released unharmed.