3 gunmen killed, 2 police injured in clashes in Sinai

By Khaled al-Jioushi

CAIRO (AA) - Three gunmen were killed and two Egyptian policemen were injured in clashes that took place in Egypt’s volatile Sinai Peninsula on Monday, according to a local security source.

The source, who spoke to Anadolu Agency on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to media, said several gunmen had fired at a group of policemen standing at the vicinity of the al-Sheikh Zuweid town's police station.

The source added that the policemen had responded, killing three of the gunmen. Two of the policemen were injured during the clashes.

The Egyptian Ministry of Interior has yet to comment on the incident.

Since mid-2013, when Mohamed Morsi -- Egypt’s first democratically-elected president -- was ousted in a military coup, hundreds of Egyptian security personnel have been killed in Sinai amid an ongoing, low-intensity militant insurgency.

Egyptian security forces, for their part, have continued to wage a fierce campaign in the peninsula -- involving both the police and the army -- against what they describe as Sinai-based "terrorist groups".

Egypt’s army-backed authorities say they are battling the Welayat Sinai ("Sinai Province") group, which is said to have sworn allegiance to the Daesh terrorist organization.