UPDATE: 18 policemen killed in Arish attack

CAIRO – 11 September 2017: The death toll of Egyptian policemen, who were killed due to roadside bombs, rose to 18 on Monday in North Sinai, security sources said.

The police personnel were attacked when police vehicles were patrolling the Arish area. A number of other police personnel were injured in the attack.

They were targeted by four roadside bombs, in North Sinai on Monday, the source added. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Interior statement said that the attack was targeted by a car bomb and then followed by a gun shooting standoff between the police and the militants.

Three militants were also killed in pursuit by police forces following the attack.

Four members of the ambulance staff, who were in charge of transporting the injured and dead bodies to the nearest hospital, were also injured when another group of militants opened fire at them, the security sources continued.
Similar attacks have targeted hundreds of police and army forces in the northern tip of the Sinai Peninsula since the ouster of President Mohamed Morsi in July 2013 following mass protests against his rule.

On the other hand, the army has been leading a prolonged fight against extremists in North Sinai, claiming the lives of hundreds of militants, seizing thousands of weapons and destroying many tunnels used for smuggling drugs, people and weapons.