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Policeman, soldier shot dead by militants in Egypt's Sinai

Xinhua, September 17, 2015 Adjust font size:

A police general was shot dead by unknown militants on Wednesday while checking police points at a square in Arish town of restive North Sinai province northeast of the capital Cairo, the Egyptian Interior Ministry reported.

"The assailants drove a white vehicle and shot at a security point at Al-Nasr Square near Arish police station that wounded General Khaled Othman to death," the ministry's spokesman said in a statement, noting that the forces exchanged fire with the militants who ran away.

Meanwhile, at least six militants were killed and 22 suspects were arrested while planting explosive devices targeting security men in Arish, Rafah and Sheikh Zuweid towns in North Sinai, the Egyptian military spokesman said.

"As a result of the clashes with the terrorist elements, a soldier has been martyred," Brigadier-general Mohamed Samir said, noting that the raids defused 81 planted explosive devices, burned down 31 huts and dens of the terrorists and destroyed 14 vehicles and 15 motorbikes belonging to them.

The raids marks the 10th day of a massive security operation in North Sinai that left hundreds of militants killed and a similar number of suspects arrested.

The Egyptian security forces have recently killed 12 people including eight Mexican tourists by mistake while chasing militants with similar 4x4 vehicles near Bahariya Oasis in the country's Western Desert

Egypt has been suffering anti-government armed attacks that killed hundreds of security men since the military removed former Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in July 2013 in response to mass protests. Later crackdown on Morsi's supporters left more than 1,000 dead and thousands more arrested.

Earlier in August, a car bomb explosion targeting a national security building in Qalioubiya province near the capital Cairo left at least 29 people injured. The country's prosecutor general was also assassinated in a car bomb in late June.

Most of the anti-government attacks were claimed by Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis group, which has changed its name to "Sinai State" and declared loyalty to the Islamic State (IS) militant group.

Continuous massive military operations in the peninsula have killed hundreds of militants as part of the country's "war against terrorism." Endit