Roadside bombs kill 2 policemen in Egypt’s Sinai region

By Khaled al-Jayoushi

CAIRO

At least two policemen were killed Thursday when their vehicles struck roadside bombs in two separate incidents in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, according to a local security source.

"A policeman was killed and a civilian injured after a police armored vehicle struck a roadside bomb while passing through the city of Al-Arish in North Sinai,” the source, preferring anonymity as he was not authorized to speak to the media, told Anadolu Agency.

According to the same source, a second policeman was killed Thursday afternoon when another police vehicle struck a roadside bomb while passing the Al-Obour district of Al-Arish.

No groups have claimed responsibility for the blasts, nor has Egypt’s Interior Ministry released an official statement.

In a related development, the Egyptian army announced Thursday that at least 19 “Sinai-based extremists”, including a senior leader of the Ansar Beit al-Maqdis group, had been killed in aerial bombardments conducted in Sinai.

"Based on intelligence gathered by our security agencies, the Egyptian Air Force managed to target and destroy several terrorist outposts in Sinai," army spokesman Tamer al-Rifai said in a statement posted on Facebook.

"At least 19 extremists were killed in these bombardments,” he added.

Sinai has remained at the epicenter of a deadly militant insurgency since mid-2013, when Mohamed Morsi -- Egypt’s first freely-elected president -- was ousted and imprisoned in a military coup.

Since then, hundreds of Egyptian security personnel have been killed across the peninsula, which shares borders with both Israel and the blockaded Gaza Strip.

Egyptian security forces, meanwhile, continue to wage a fierce campaign -- involving elements of both the police and army -- against what they describe as Sinai-based "terrorist groups".