Seven policemen were killed on Tuesday night after militants staged an ambush on several security checkpoints in North Sinai's city of Al-Arish, the ministry of interior said in a statement on Wednesday. Weapons and explosives were confiscated from the perpetrators and the ambush left four militants dead. One of the militants died as he was trying to detonate an explosive belt, the statement added. The seven policemen included an officer and six conscripts. The aftermath of the attack witnessed the arrival of heavy reinforcements from the police and the military to secure the perimeter of the attacked checkpoints, local residents in Al-Arish told Daily News Egypt. Until time of publishing, no militant groups have declared responsibility for the attack. In the beginning of June, a deadly attack took place also in Al-Arish's Batal 14 checkpoint. The attack left one officer, one non-commissioned-officer, and six conscripts killed. It took place during the early hours of the first day of Eid Al-Fitr (Lesser Bairam). The attack was claimed by the Islamic State (IS) affiliate Sinai Province group which published on several social media accounts pictures claiming to be from the assault on Batal 14 checkpoint. The pictures showed militants assaulting the checkpoint. Since October 2014, a state of emergency has been imposed on North Sinai. The governorate has been rocked by several terrorist attacks since 2013, targeting hundreds of security personnel, Christians, and even Sufi Muslims. Most of the attacks were carried out by the IS terrorist group's branch in Sinai. Last February, the military launched a comprehensive operation, dubbed ‘Sinai 2018', to confront militants in central and North Sinai, the Nile Delta region, and the Western Desert.
