In the STS Authentication Protocol, why are the signatures encrypted? From Wikipedia:

(1) Alice → Bob : g^x
(2) Alice ← Bob : g^y, E_K(S_B(g^y, g^x))
(3) Alice → Bob : E_K(S_A(g^x, g^y))


I know there should be something I'm missing, but I cannot think of why E_K(...) is used. Isn't the signature sufficient? Even if there was a MITM, having S_B(...) or S_A(...) isn't very useful. What am I missing here?
The encryption of the signatures

$\;$ keeps the identity of the initiator (Alice) confidential, even against active attackers
$\;\;\;\;$ and
$\;$ keeps the identity of the responder (Bob) confidential against passive eavesdroppers
$\;\;\;\;$ and
$\;$ provides some protection against identity misbinding attacks,

$\;$ although not as much as a good protocol should have

.