Three conscripts and an officer were injured following a side-road bomb explosion targeting a military vehicle in the North Sinai town of Al-Arish Sunday. The injured were transferred to Al-Arish Hospital, state-run newspaper Al-Ahram reported.
The Sinai-based militant group “State of Sinai” claimed responsibility for the attack via their official Twitter account.
Similar incidents targeting security personnel and facilities have been on the rise since the ouster of former Muslim Brotherhood President Mohamed Morsi in July 2013.
The armed group posted a series of photos featuring the burning of trucks allegedly carrying food supplies to security personnel located in North Sinai.
In response to the rising militancy in the restive Peninsula, the armed forces launch attacks on militants’ hideouts and headquarters.
On Saturday, the military spokesman announced the killing of 29 militants and the arrest of 133 suspects in the time period between 20-30 April.
The group was formerly known as Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis, before pledging allegiance to the “Islamic State” in November. It emerged in Egypt in 2011, but started expanding its operations within North Sinai mainly after Morsi’s ouster.
President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi has repeatedly said “foreign elements” were involved in the militancy in North Sinai.
