One policeman was killed, and two conscripts were injured in North Sinai Thursday after a device exploded inside a police vehicle. The device exploded whilst the vehicle was near 17th km mark on the Al-Arish international road, near East Qantara. Security officials told local newspapers that among those injured is a 20-year-old conscript. The two injured conscripts were taken to a nearby hospital. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack yet. Insurgents have intensified attacks in North Sinai since the ouster of former president Mohamed Morsi in 2013. The governorate has become the scene of violent clashes between extra-state militants and the Egyptian armed forces. "State of Sinai", formerly known as Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis, has claimed responsibility for the majority of the attacks against security forces in North Sinai, including the downing of the Russian passenger jet over Sinai on 31 October, which killed all 224 passengers and crew members. In September, the military announced the killing of at least 100 "takfiri elements" and the arrest of another 195, as part of operation "Retribution for the martyr" against militant groups in North Sinai.
