2 policemen killed in explosion in Egypt's Sinai
Xinhua, September 26, 2015 Adjust font size:
At least two Egyptian policemen were killed and other 16 wounded on Saturday in an explosion in the North Sinai's city of Arish, according to a statement from the Interior Ministry.
The attack took place when a police vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb, the statement said.
The Islamic State (IS) affiliate in Sinai has claimed responsibility for the accident.
It was the third attack against policemen in past 10 days.
On Sept. 20, unknown militants gunned down an Egyptian police general in Arish. On Sept. 18, another general was shot dead as he inspected a police unit.
Egypt has been suffering a surge of militant attacks against the army and police forces since the ouster of the Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013 by the army in response to mass protests against his rule.
The crackdown on Morsi's supporters has left more than 1,000 dead and thousands more arrested.
Most of the attacks have been claimed by Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis group, which has changed its name to "Sinai State" and declared loyalty to the IS regional militant group.
The army launched a wide-scale operation to uproot the militants' hideouts in Sinai and says it has killed 536 militants over the past 20 days. Endit