CAIRO: Some 10 police personnel were slightly injured after a roadside bomb went off Thursday near their bus in North Sinai’s town of Arish, security source told Youm7.
The bus, followed by an armored vehicle for security reasons, was carrying a number of police personnel at the start of their leave, the source said, adding that the explosion caused the bus to flip over leaving 10 injured so far.
The blast took place Thursday morning in El-Midan district west of Arish. Residents said they heard a blast and ambulance vehicles were seen rushing to the place, Youm7 reported.
The district was closed by security forces, and the injured were transferred to hospital.
In July 1, several simultaneous attacks targeted army checkpoints in North Sinai leaving 17 soldiers killed, according to the army. The Sinai Province militant group, previously known as Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis, claimed responsibility of the attacks.
The army announced it killed 205 militants during the three days that followed the attacks.
The Sinai –militant group has repeatedly launched attacks on army posts in North Sinai, killing hundreds of soldiers since the 2013 ouster of President Mohamed Morsi.
A magnified security campaign is taking place in the northern tip of the peninsula to combat a rising militancy. Under the campaign, hundreds of militants have been killed and many smuggling tunnels have been destroyed.
On another level, the government has approved amendments made to counter-terrorism draft law, which aims to “accelerate court procedures of terrorism-related crimes through shrinking litigation period,” said Ibrahim el-Heneidy, Transitional Justice Minister and head of the committee tasked with making the legal amendments.
President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi has also called for the expedition of the punishment to such crimes, following the assassination of Attorney-General Hisham Barakat on June 29.
Additional reporting by Mohamed Hussein and Mohamed Tanatawy