6 killed in clashes in Egypt’s Sinai

By Viola Fahmi

CAIRO (AA) – Six people were killed and 17 others injured in deadly clashes between security forces and militants in Egypt’s restive Sinai Peninsula on Monday, according to a local security source.

Gunmen driving a car and motorbikes opened fire on security forces outside a church in North Sinai city of Arish, the source said on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to media.

He said clashes broke out between the attackers and security forces, leaving six people dead, including three policemen.

Egyptian authorities have yet to comment on the attack, for which no group has yet claimed responsibility.

On Sunday, the Egyptian army said six soldiers and dozens militants were killed in attacks in the northern Sinai Peninsula.

Last week, Egypt renewed a three-month state of emergency, which was declared after a twin church attack killed dozens in April.

Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula has remained the epicenter of a deadly militant insurgency since mid-2013, when Mohamed Morsi, the country’s first freely-elected president, was ousted and imprisoned in a bloody military coup.

Since then, hundreds of Egyptian security personnel have been killed in attacks across Sinai, especially in the peninsula’s volatile northeastern quadrant, which shares borders with both Israel and the Gaza Strip.