CAIRO (AP) — The U.S. Embassy in Cairo says Egypt has received its first shipment of armored vehicles designed to protect soldiers from roadside bombs.

The embassy said in a statement that the first batch of 762 MRAP (Mine Resistance Ambush Protected) vehicles was delivered Thursday, and is aimed at helping to "combat terrorism and promote stability in the region."

Egypt has been struggling to contain an insurgency based in the northern part of the Sinai Peninsula, where an Islamic State affiliate has carried out scores of attacks mainly targeting the army and police.

The delivery came nearly two weeks after a visit by Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Joseph Dunford, his second trip to Egypt in two months.