Militants kill one police officer in North Sinai

A police officer and a conscript were killed on Thursday in North Sinai in a shootout with militants, Egypt’s Ministry of Interior said in a statement.

Police captain Moataz Abdel-Aziz and conscript Mahmoud Mohamed were killed in an exchange of fire between security forces and militants in El-Arish city.

The police officer and conscript were part of a security patrol in the area.

This is the second deadly attack today by militants on security forces in North Sinai.

Earlier in the day, three army officers and seven soldiers were killed during a raid on a militant hideout in central Sinai after “two improvised explosive devices detonated near their vehicles as they chased militants.”

Fifteen militants were killed and seven were arrested during the raid, the army said.

The Islamic State (IS) militant group has claimed responsibility for the killing of the ten army personnel.

Hundreds of security personnel have been killed in terror attacks in North Sinai by militants in recent years, while the army said that it has killed hundreds of militants in security campaigns in the governorate.

Source: Ahram online