Fresh attack kills 2 policemen in Egypt’s Sinai

By Khaled el-Geyoshi

CAIRO (AA) – Two policemen were killed and four others injured in a bomb explosion Saturday in Egypt’s restive Sinai Peninsula, according to a local security source.

The blast occurred when a police vehicle struck a roadside bomb in North Sinai’s city of Sheikh Zuweid, the source said anonymously due to restrictions on speaking to media.

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack and Egyptian authorities have yet to comment.

Northern Sinai has seen an uptick in militant attacks recently in which dozens of soldiers were killed.

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

Egyptian security forces, meanwhile, have continued to wage a fierce campaign, involving elements from both the police and army, against what they describe as Sinai-based "terrorist groups".

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