CAIRO - An Egyptian security official said on Thursday that the rocket that struck the southern Israeli city of Eilat Wednesady was not launched from the Sinai Peninsula, despite initial assessments to the contrary and amid reported attempts by Egyptian forces to locate those responsible for the salvo. No casualties or damage were reported. The Grad-type Katyusha rocket exploded near a residential area in the southern tourist spot near the border with Egypt twenty minutes after midnight; no injuries or damage were reported, but some Eilat residents were said to be suffering from shock. Security forces found traces of the rocket near a building site in the Shahamon neighbourhood, about 150 metres from a residential area, after strong explosions shook the city. Commenting on estimations that the volley originated from the Sinai, the head of Egyptian security in the southern part of the peninsula said later Thursday that that was not the case. Other Egyptian security officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, had said that local security forces and military aircraft were searching southeastern Sinai for terrorists believed to be behind the launch.