CAIRO (Sputnik) —At least five police officers died and six were badly wounded in an assault on police vehicles in the north of the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt, local media said on Monday. Reuters reported that about 18 policemen had died and three were injured, citing local security and medical sources.
Earlier in the day, two policemen were reported dead and three others injured as a result of a blast caused by the detonation of a roadside bomb west of the city of Arish in the Sinai Peninsula. At least three militants were pursued and killed.
The area of the explosion has been cordoned off and a counterterrorism operation is underway in the area, the newspaper Youm7 reported, citing medical sources.
According to a source close to Egypt's security forces, four armored vehicles belonging to the Egyptian police were blown up by a mine laid by terrorists on the roadside. Following the explosion, the perpetrators opened fire on police officers.
Egypt has been fighting terrorists located in the north of the Sinai Peninsula for almost two years. The army and security forces continue their efforts to eliminate the militants, whose activity has decreased over the past several months.
