The Ministry of Interior announced that the three citizens who were killed after a bomb exploded near an armoured vehicle on Wednesday in Al-Arish, North Sinai were involved in the attack.
Investigations by security forces confirmed that the three citizens belong to terrorist groups. They were previously involved in other terror attacks, according to the ministry statement.
The ministry added that one of the accused was the brother of well-known terrorist Nasr Khamis who was involved carrying out explosions in Taba, Dahab and Sharm El-Sheikh in 2004, 2005, and 2006.
State-run newspaper Al-Ahram had reported that one police conscript and three citizens were killed by the explosion. Security forces had transferred the four bodies to Al-Arish military hospital and informed the concerned authorities in order to investigate the attack.
The ministry statement released Thursday further confirmed continued efforts to arrest terrorists committing such attacks.
Several terrorist attacks took place on 21 July across North Sinai, injuring five conscripts, one non-commissioned officer, and one citizen, the Facebook page North Sinai News reported.
On 19 July, parliament approved the extension of the state of emergency in North Sinai, following a presidential decree ordering that it continue. The curfew hours were first imposed in 2014 and have been continuously renewed since then.
Several North Sinai residents previously told Daily News Egypt that the state of emergency has negatively affected their businesses and day-to-day lives. Residents also said that militancy tends to increase after curfew hours begin.
Sinai has become the scene of frequent clashes between militants and state security forces. An extensive counter-insurgency operation was launched to curb militancy within Sinai. These operations have imposed a state of emergency in the northern regions of the peninsula.
