Roadside explosion in Egypt kills four policemen

Four Egyptian policemen were killed and six wounded on Monday by two roadside explosives in the restive Sinai Peninsula, security sources told Reuters.

The sources said that the four policemen were killed in the city of Arish, the capital of North Sinai province, when their armored vehicle drove past a roadside bomb and three others were wounded.

Another armoured vehicle rushed to the scene only for a second roadside explosive to go off, injuring three policemen.

The sources said militants planted the explosives and detonated them remotely once the vehicles drove by.

There was no immediate comment from the Interior Ministry.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility but Egypt faces an Islamist insurgency led by Islamic State in North Sinai, where hundreds of soldiers and police have been killed since 2013, when the military ousted Islamist president, Mohamed Mursi, after mass protest.

Islamic State has also increasingly carried out attacks in the mainland on security forces and Coptic Christian civilians in recent months, killing around 100 Copts since December.

Military jets have been carrying out air strikes in areas east of Arish and south of the border town of Sheikh Zuweid.

No fewer than 23 soldiers were killed when suicide car bombs tore through two military checkpoints in North Sinai on Friday, an attack claimed by Islamic State that marked one of the bloodiest assaults on security forces in years.