Militants shoot dead policeman in Egypt's Sinai

By Khaled al-Jayoushi

CAIRO (AA) – An Egyptian policeman was killed in a drive-by shooting in the Sinai Peninsula on Saturday, one day after a suicide bombing killed dozens of soldiers in the restive region.

Gunmen on a motorbike opened fire on the policeman in the North Sinai city of Arish, killing him on the spot before they fled the scene unscathed, a local security official said on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to media.

There was no claim of responsibility for the attack.

On Friday, at least 26 soldiers were killed and injured in a suicide bombing claimed by Daesh terrorist group in northern Sinai Peninsula.

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

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

The Egyptian authorities, for their part, say they are battling the Welayat Sinai ("Province of Sinai") group, which is said to have links with the Daesh terrorist organization.