Suicide car bomb kills 2, wounds 33 in Egypt's Sinai

A suicide car bomb on Tuesday targeting a police camp in Egypt's restive Sinai Peninsula killed two civilians and wounded at least 33 people, including 30 policemen, an official security source told Xinhua.

The attack took place early morning in a police camp at the border of Arish city, the capital of North Sinai province, the source said.

The police forces targeted the suspected vehicle and killed the alleged suicide militant driver before it reaching the security building, the source said, adding that a civilian was killed in the explosion.

Al-Qaida-inspired Ansar Beit al-Maqdis group in Sinai, an Egyptian affiliate of the Islamic State (IS), claimed responsibility for the attack.

North Sinai is the epicenter of an Islamist insurgency that has killed hundreds of police and soldiers since Islamist President Mohamed Morsi was ousted by the then-army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in July 2013 after mass protests against his one-year rule.

The Egyptian military said on Sunday that 70 militants were killed in airstrikes and security raids in North Sinai last week.

Egypt has beefed security forces up for potential security risks in Sinai Peninsula as the long-expected economic conference will be held in mid-March at its world-famous tourism resort Sharm El-Sheikh. Endit