Islamic State (IS) on Tuesday claimed responsibility for two attacks on Monday in the North Sinai city of Al-Arish, which left nine people dead.

The Ammaq news agency, which is affiliated to IS, published a statement claiming their troops killed 25 police officers during the attack that targeted two checkpoints in El-Matafy and El-Masieed suburbs in southern Al-Arish.

“An explosives-laden vehicle was parked and detonated near the checkpoint,” the statement read. “The explosion was followed by intensive attacks from IS fighters who blew up two armoured vehicles and killed all who were not killed by the initial explosion.”

On Monday, two attacks hit two police checkpoints in Al-Arish. Both attacks left eight police officers and one civilian dead, according to a statement issued by the Interior Ministry’s official Facebook page.

The first attack which targeted El-Matafy (fire brigade station) security checkpoint at dawn on Monday was carried out by nearly 20 militants who tried to control the checkpoint south of Al-Arish, the statement explained.

Meanwhile, the statement noted that the militants first opened fire using AK-47 assault rifles against forces stationed in the checkpoint. They also used improvised explosive devices (IEDs), a vehicle laden with explosives, and rocket-propelled grenade launchers (RPGs).

Contrary to the IS statement, the Interior Ministry statement said that security forces managed to detonate the vehicle before it got close to the checkpoint, and in the ensuing gunfight security forces killed five militants and injured three others.

“The first attack resulted in the death of one low-ranking police officer and six conscripts, in addition to a civilian who was accidently close to the checkpoint,” the statement said. “The attack left six conscripts and six civilians wounded, all of which have been transferred to hospitals.”

The Interior Ministry published a video that showed a militant who was driving a garbage truck before being fired upon and killed.

In the same context, Defence Minister Sedki Sobhi continued on Tuesday his periodic video conference meetings with a number of conscripts, officers, and leaders from the armed forces. The meetings started with a minute of silence in honour of the victims of the Al-Arish attacks, according to a statement issued from the official army spokesperson.

During the meeting, Sedki expressed his deep condolences to the families of the victims of the attacks.

The Minister of Defence also praised efforts exerted by members of the third field army in confronting terrorism and foiling a terrorist attack that targeted a number of army checkpoints. </s> A suicide bomber driving a garbage truck packed with explosives rammed his vehicle into an Egyptian security checkpoint outside a police building in northern Sinai on Monday, killing at least 10 people and wounding 22, officials said.

According to security and medical officials, the attack in the city of el-Arish in the Sinai Peninsula was followed by smaller explosions as militants wearing black masks fired rocket-propelled grenades at the troops around the checkpoint.

Three floors of the police building were blown out, the officials said, adding that so far, bodies of 10 people — all but one of them policemen — have been retrieved from the rubble but that they fear the death toll could rise further. The wounded were taken to hospital.

At the checkpoint, two officers survived unharmed, the officials said. There were unconfirmed reports that a number of security personnel were seized and abducted by the gunmen.

The garbage truck had been stolen days earlier from the municipality of el-Arish, the officials said, adding that the militants had built in metal plates to enforce the truck. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to reporters.

Later Monday, Egypt's Interior Ministry released footage showing an attacker driving what appears to be a white garbage truck. The video shows the attacker collapsing after coming under fire.

In a statement on the ministry's Facebook page, the security authorities claim they managed to foil the attack before the car bomb exploded at the checkpoint and that security forces killed five of the attackers and wounded three others. It also said seven policemen were killed, along with civilian, and that six policemen and six civilians were wounded.

The ministry also said a second group of militants tried to carry out an attack on another checkpoint, also in el-Arish, but came under heavy gunfire and were forced to flee. It said that attack killed one policeman. It wasn't immediately possible to reconcile the two accounts.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for Monday's attack, which bore all the hallmarks of Egypt's Daesh affiliate.

The militant group has carried out scores of attacks against security forces in the volatile northern Sinai and elsewhere in the country. The Egyptian army has struggled over the past few years to contain the insurgency. </s> At least eight members of security forces killed in an attack on a police checkpoint in El-Arish.

A truck bomb attack on a checkpoint in the city of El-Arish in Egypt's northern Sinai has killed at least seven policemen and one civilian, security officials and medical sources said.

Police officials said a suicide bomber rammed the truck packed with explosives into the El-Matafe checkpoint and gunmen then opened fire on the security post on Monday.

Egypt's interior ministry said in a statement that security forces were able to "fight off" the attack, killing five assailants and wounding three others.

Six policemen and six civilians were also wounded in the attack.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the truck bombing but an armed movement in the rugged and thinly populated Sinai Peninsula has gained pace since the military toppled President Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood, in mid-2013 following mass protests against his rule.

Since then, hundreds of police officers and soldiers have been killed by armed groups.

In November, a car bomb attack on a checkpoint in Sinai killed eight soldiers.

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group's Egyptian branch in the Sinai Peninsula has also carried out several such attacks over the past two years. </s> Seven police officers have been killed in a militant attack in restive northern Sinai Peninsula, Egypt's Interior Ministry said Wednesday.

The attack near the regional capital El-Arish targeted an "assembly center" for police, according to the ministry.

Northern Sinai has long been a center of insurgents and Egyptian authorities last year launched an offensive against the militants.

Egypt's government has been battling militants centered in northern Sinai. The insurgency intensified after the military in 2013 ousted Egypt's first and only democratically elected President Mohammed Morsi, who died last week in a courtroom. </s> The assault comes a day after three people, including a policeman, were wounded in an explosion in Cairo

An attack on an army checkpoint in the northern Sinai Peninsula killed and wounded 15 Egyptian soldiers on Saturday, marking the deadliest assault against the security forces since the start of a major military operation there a year ago.

Military spokesman Col Tamer El Rifaai said soldiers at the checkpoint exchanged fire with the attackers, killing seven of them, and that forces were pursuing more of the suspects in the area.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Saturday’s early morning attack, but it bore the hallmarks of ISIS, which is now leading the insurgency in rugged and largely remote northern Sinai.

A brief statement issued by Col El Rifaai did not give the location of the checkpoint or give a breakdown of the wounded and killed among the 15 casualties. He only said that they included an officer and soldiers of various ranks.

However, security officials, said the checkpoint was a few kilometres south the airport serving the coastal city of El Arish.

Unlike most previous attacks targeting checkpoints, the officials said, Saturday’s attack did not commence with a suicide car bombing or a barrage of rocket-propelled grenades.

Egypt’s security forces have battled militants in Sinai for years to quash an insurgency that become deadlier in recent years. Last February, Egypt launched a large-scale operation to eradicate the militants, throwing thousands of elite troops backed by fighter jets, helicopter gunships, tanks and naval vessels into the battle.

The operation significantly reduced the number of attacks and allowed the return of near-normal life in El Arish, northern Sinai’s largest city where militants once carried out assassinations, abducted critics, attacked members of the security forces, terrorised civilians and carried out robberies in broad daylight.

The militants have consistently failed to win and control territory in Sinai, unlike their counterparts in Iraq and Syria. In Syria, the Kurdish-majority Syrian Democratic Forces, with significant international backing, reduced ISIS to its last sliver of territory and the militants are expected to be overrun in the coming days.

But Saturday’s attack in Egypt, given the relatively high number of casualties, marks a setback to Egypt’s military effort in Sinai.

It has added significance because it came a day after a crude explosive device went off, wounding three people, including a policeman, in Cairo. The authorities blamed members of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood for Friday’s attack.

In December, a roadside bomb exploded, hitting a tourist bus in Cairo near the renowned Giza pyramids, killing three Vietnamese tourists along with their Egyptian guide.

Ten other people were wounded.

Military forces are seen in North Sinai, Egypt, December 1, 2017. Reuters </s> CAIRO (Reuters) - Seven Egyptian police officers and four militants were killed in a clash in the north of the Sinai Peninsula, the interior ministry said on Wednesday.

The clash took place late on Tuesday when militants attacked forces stationed southwest of the city of Arish, the ministry said in a statement.

Islamic State claimed the attack, saying it had carried out simultaneous raids on military positions in Arish, according to a statement carried on the group’s Amaq news agency.

Security sources said the militants had used more than 10 four-wheel vehicles in coordinated attacks at four sites.

Egyptian security forces have been battling Islamist militants in the Sinai Peninsula for years and launched a counter-insurgency campaign in the area in February 2018.

Earlier this month militants attacked a checkpoint in North Sinai, an assault that left eight security personnel dead according to the interior ministry. </s> El-Arish, Egypt: A suicide bomber driving a garbage truck packed with explosives rammed his vehicle into an Egyptian security checkpoint outside a police building in northern Sinai on Monday, killing at least nine people and wounding 10, officials said.

According to security and medical officials, the attack in the city of el-Arish in the Sinai Peninsula was followed by smaller explosions as militants wearing black masks fired rocket-propelled grenades at the troops around the checkpoint.

Three floors of the police building were blown out, the officials said, adding that so far nine bodies have been retrieved from the rubble but that they feared the death toll could rise further. Ten wounded were taken to hospital.

At the checkpoint, two officers survived unharmed, the officials said. There were unconfirmed reports that a number of security personnel were seized and abducted by the gunmen.

The garbage truck had been stolen days earlier from the municipality of el-Arish, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to talk to reporters.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, which bore all the hallmarks of Egypt's Islamic State affiliate. The militant group has carried out scores of attacks against security forces in the volatile northern Sinai and elsewhere in the country. The Egyptian army has struggled over the past few years to contain the insurgency. </s> Funeral prayers were held in Cairo and Sharqiya on Sunday to mourn the deaths of an officer and soldiers killed in a deadly attack on Egypt's military in the Sinai Peninsula.

An attack Saturday on an Egyptian army checkpoint in the restive Sinai left 15 soldiers dead or wounded and seven of the suspected Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, ISIS) fighters were killed, the military said.

The breakdown of military casualties was not immediately clear. Two security sources told Reuters news agency some of the injuries were serious.

ISIL later claimed responsibility for the attack on its Amaq website.

It said it killed at least 15 Egyptian troops, revising an earlier figure of 20 dead south of the provincial capital of Arish after clashes with "various kinds of weapons".

The group did not provide evidence for its claim.

Since 2013, ISIL fighters have repeatedly targeted security checkpoints and civilians, particularly members of Egypt's minority Coptic Christian community.

Egypt's army launched a major operation against the fighters a year ago dubbed Sinai 2018, after an attack in North Sinai killed more than 300 people at a mosque.

The army says more than 550 fighters have been killed in the offensive, which has also targeted other armed groups in Egypt - costing the lives of more than 30 soldiers.

 

But no independent statistics are available as North Sinai is largely cut off from the media. </s> A truck-bomb attack on a checkpoint in the city of El-Arish in Egypt's northern Sinai has killed at least seven policemen and one civilian, according to security officials and medical sources.

Police officials said a suicide bomber drove the truck packed with explosives into El-Matafe checkpoint and armed men then opened fire on the security post on Monday.

Egypt's interior ministry said in a statement that security forces were able to "fight off" the attack, killing five assailants and wounding three others.

Six policemen and six civilians were also wounded.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the truck bombing, but an armed movement in the rugged and thinly populated Sinai Peninsula has gained pace since the military toppled President Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood, in mid-2013.

Since then, hundreds of police officers and soldiers have been killed in attacks.

In November, a car bomb attack on a checkpoint in Sinai killed eight soldiers.

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group's Egyptian branch in the Sinai Peninsula has also carried out several such attacks over the past two years.

The Sinai Peninsula borders Israel and Palestine's Gaza Strip.
Suspected ISIL militants attack checkpoints and an assembly center in the Egyptian city of Arish. Seven police officers are killed, along with a civilian. Four militants also died, including one that blew himself up.