Eight policemen, one citizen and five armed persons were killed in two separate attacks against security checkpoints in northern Sinai, the Ministry of the Interior said. In a statement, the ministry said that “20 armed persons attempted storming Al-Matafy checkpoint in Arish using RPGs and a car bomb. The attack left “seven policemen dead (one policeman and six conscripts), in addition to one citizen who was passing by the checkpoint. The terrorist group "Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis" earlier claimed responsibility for several attacks that targeted security troops in Sinai and some other governorates. The group then changed its name to Sinai Province after it pledged allegiance to the "Islamic State" (IS) militant group.

Source: Egypt Independent January 09, 2017 14:43 UTC