SINAI - Masked gunmen kidnapped three Egyptian border guards on the Egyptian-Israeli border in the Sinai Peninsula early Sunday, a security official said, adding that talks were underwent to secure their release. "The gunmen arrived in three cars at a border post and forced the three policemen into the vehicles and sped away. The cars had no number plates," the official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said. He added that the kidnappings had appeared linked to the shooting death last week of a suspected drug smuggler, who tried to sneak across the border into Israel. Border guards from the post where the kidnappings took place were involved in the shooting. "Some Sinai Bedouin are involved in contacts to release the three policemen, who were not identified," the official was quoted by the Middle East News Agency (MENA) as saying.