Minor bombs hit the homes of two policemen in North Sinai on Wednesday morning, Al-Ahram Arabic news website reported. No casualties were reported. The blasts hit the homes of two low-ranking policemen in the Al-Masaeed district of Al-Arish. Witnesses said the homes suffered minor damage. Several houses of policemen have been similarly attacked in the past two months in North Sinai amid an Islamist armed insurgency against the state. On 22 June, three policemen and five civilians were injured when two bombs struck adjacent houses inhabited by police personnel in the Karm Abo Negila area of Arish. Earlier on 13 June, assailants targeted another policeman's house in North Sinai with an RPG that reportedly missed the target and blasted the walls of a nearby house, injuring a family of six. In the past two weeks the Egyptian army has carried out intense strikes against insurgent strongholds, which have reportedly left more than 200 militant fighters dead, after Islamic State militants launched multiple simultaneous attacks against security forces earlier in July, leaving at least 21 soldiers dead according to military reports. Militants have killed hundreds of police and army personnel in the past two years in North Sinai, while the authorities have announced that they also killed hundreds of Islamist militants in military campaigns in the governorate. An Islamic State affiliate, Sinai Province – previously known as Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis – has claimed responsibility for a number of attacks against security forces in Sinai. http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/135911.aspx
