An explosive device detonated Saturday morning, targeting an armoured police vehicle on the ring road of Al-Arish city in North Sinai, according to Interior Minister Magdy Abdel Ghaffar. One police officer and two soldiers were killed, while eight soldiers were injured as a result of the explosion. The injured soldiers were transferred to a hospital for treatment. The security forces cordoned off the explosion area and enhance their effort to arrest the perpetrators, according to an official source. In a similar context, a police officer was killed and three police conscripts were injured early on Friday due to a car bomb in North Sinai. The bomb exploded on the international highway in Al-Arish, while "State of Sinai" claimed responsibility for the attack. The "State of Sinai" media and information office released a report, entitled "A campaign to repel apostates", which included photos illustrating their preparations to target armed forces personnel and vehicles. The photographs also depicted militants clashing with the armed forces, as well as military weapons and supplies, and militants shooting machine guns at army targets, a destroyed tank, as well as militants on top of cars waving the black "Islamic State" flag. Roadside bombings and individual attacks have become a regular occurrence in Sinai, particularly since the ouster of former Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in July 2013. Since the beginning of September, the armed forces have been intensifying operations against militants in Sinai, with a death toll now exceeding 200 militants, according to armed forces' statements.
