Egypt: 5 policemen killed in Sinai attacks

By Rabia al-Sokkary

CAIRO (AA) - Five policemen were killed and nine others injured in two separate militant attacks late Saturday in Egypt’s restive Sinai Peninsula.

In a statement, the Interior Ministry said unidentified gunmen opened fire on a minibus carrying five police personnel in North Sinai’s city of Arish.

“The five were also killed in the attack,” the statement said.

In another attack, nine policemen were also injured when their vehicle struck a roadside bomb in Rafah in northern Sinai, a security source told Anadolu Agency.

There was no claim of responsibility for Saturday’s attacks.

Since the ouster of President Mohamed Morsi in a 2013 military coup, the northern Sinai Peninsula has been the epicenter of a deadly insurgency against Egyptian security personnel.

In recent months, the “Welayet Sinai” (Province of Sinai) group -- said to be linked with Daesh -- has claimed responsibility for a spate of deadly attacks on Egyptian security forces deployed in the volatile region.