18 Egyptian cops killed in ISIS attack

Cairo, Sept 12: At least 18 policemen were killed in an attack launched by Islamic State (IS) militants on Monday near Arish the provincial capital of North Sinai. Three armoured vehicles were also destroyed in an explosive attack.

The explosion was followed by an armed conflict. The attackers opened fire on ambulance workers, injuring four of them. The interior ministry informed that ‘several policemen were injured or killed’ in this ‘infidel attack’.

Daesh (Arabic acronym for Islamic State) has claimed the attack in a statement published on its ‘Amaq’ agency.

For some time, the Islamic militia has fomented acts of insurrection in the barren and mostly uninhabited territory of Sinai, with the aim of overthrowing the government of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

Since the deposition of former President Islamist Mohammed Morsi in 2013, Islamists have murdered hundreds of soldiers and police forces. Last July, 23 Egyptian soldiers were killed in a twin suicide bombing on two military checkpoints.