EL-ARISH, Egypt (AP) – Two roadside bombs exploded in the northern Sinai peninsula killing three members of Egypt’s security forces and injuring 10 others, officials said Friday.
The bombs exploded near separate checkpoints in Sheikh Zuweid town late Thursday, said two security officers and a medical officer, who asked to remain anonymous as they had no authority to release the media.
Officials did not say who was to blame for the attacks and no one immediately called for responsibility, but Egypt has been fighting a state-led Islamic crisis in Sinai. ‘became more intense after the military ousted the Islamic president in 2013.
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The militants have made scores of attacks, mainly targeting security forces and minority Christians.
The first explosion left Thursday night leaving one dead and seven injured, and the second killed two and injured three, officials said. The wounded were transported to an El-Arish military hospital.
Also on Thursday, the Egyptian military carried out a series of raids in the same city killing four soldiers, officials said. It was not clear if the raid took place before or after the bombs.
The conflict in Sinai has largely disappeared from public view, with journalists and outside observers barred from the region. So far the fighting has not extended to the southern tip of the peninsula, where there are famous resorts.
In February 2018, the military launched a major operation in Sinai that also covered parts of the Nile Delta and deserts on the country’s western border with Libya. Since then, the pace of Islamic State attacks in northern Sinai has slowed.