Two police conscripts were killed and nine others injured on Saturday in an ‘Improvised Explosive Device’ ‘[IED] explosion that targeted their armored vehicle in the ‘Safa’ region at the North Sinai city of Al-Arish, according to a statement released from the Interior Ministry. The police forces made checkpoints around the site of the ‘IED’ attack and launched sweeping operations while ambulances transferred the injured conscripts to the nearest hospitals in the city. The ‘103’ battalion, that is affiliated to the special army forces ‘Sa’aka,’ has been previously subjected to several attacks from ‘Sinai Province’ militants, however, these attacks were met with failure. Since 2013, following the ouster of the Islamist former President Mohamed Morsi, several violent attacks have occurred in North Sinai by the ‘Sinai Province’ group previously known as ‘Ansar Byat Al-Maqdus’ group. In response to the violent attacks from ‘Sinai Province’ group, the Egyptian army and police forces launched large-scale military operations accompanied with sweeping operations targeting IS militants.

Source: Egypt Independent July 09, 2017 11:48 UTC