BOMB ATTACK WOUNDS FOUR EGYPT POLICEMEN IN RESTIVE SINAI

Cairo, 14 Rabiul Awwal 1436/5 January 2015 (MINA) – Egyptian security sources say at least four police officers have sustained injuries after an improvised explosive device went off in the violence-scarred Sinai Peninsula of the North African country.

The sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the explosive charge had been planted at the entrance to an apartment building, and detonated in the city of el-Arish, situated 344 kilometers (214 miles) northeast of the capital, Cairo, on Monday.

Separately, unknown assailants attacked a security checkpoint in Cairo’s upscale al-Mohandeseen district late on Sunday, killing one civilian and injuring three policemen. Press Tv quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting, Monday.

The attackers fled the scene following the drive-by shooting. No group has claimed responsibility for the act of violence,

The development came a day after Egyptian military forces killed seven militants and arrested 15 others during separate operations in the volatile Sinai.

A state of emergency has been declared in the northern part of the Sinai Peninsula since a militant attack on an Egyptian army checkpoint killed more than 30 soldiers in October.

The Egyptian military considers the Sinai Peninsula a safe haven for gunmen, who use the region as a base for their “acts of terror.”

Since the ouster of Mohamed Morsi, Egypt’s former president, on July 3, 2013, gunmen have launched almost daily attacks in Sinai, killing members of security forces.(T/P002/R03)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)