CAIRO: Ten police conscripts were injured in a Wednesday bomb attack south of Arish, North Sinai, and have been transferred to hospital, according to a police statement.
An explosive device detonated on a roadside in Masaeed area when an armored vehicle transporting the soldiers passed near it, the statement said.
Two policemen were killed in Arish after a car bomb detonated Saturday when a convoy of police passed near it. On Oct. 15, a police recruit and a civilian were killed and six policemen were injured in a roadside bomb attack in the same city.
As recent as Sept. 27, the military announced that the first phase of the Right of the Martyr operation was finalized in the northeastern part of North Sinai, including Sheikh Zuwayed, Rafah, and Arish.
The main phase of the operation was carried out in 16 days, killing 535 “terrorists,” arresting 634 wanted persons, dismantling 478 bombs, and destroying 613 “terrorist hubs,” 111 armed vehicles, 250 motorcycles and 38 explosive storehouses, the military stated.
The second phase of the operation aims to provide a suitable environment for development projects in the area to be implemented by imposing “full security and alertness” to immediately deal with threats, and maintaining control over roads.
Despite minor attacks that claimed the lives of a number of soldiers in the past few months, the most recent wide-scale attack on the army in North Sinai occurred July 1, where 17 soldiers and some 200 militants were killed, according to military figures.
In over two years of turmoil in North Sinai, hundreds of soldiers have been killed since the ouster of President Mohamed Morsi.