10 January,2017 10:31 AM IST | | Agencies
Egypt’s Interior Ministry says the attack in the city of al-Arish was carried out by a group of around 20 men who had used RPGs and a vehicle bomb
Cairo: At least seven policemen and one civilian were killed in a bomb attack on a checkpoint in the northern Sinai city of al-Arish on Monday, and five of the attackers were also killed, the Egyptian Interior Ministry said.
Security and medical sources told Reuters earlier that eight policemen were killed. The attackers planted a bomb in a street-cleaning vehicle they had stolen a few days earlier, said security sources. After the bomb exploded, attackers fired guns and rocket-propelled grenades at the checkpoint, the sources said. The Interior Ministry said the attack was carried out by a group of around 20 men who had used RPGs and a vehicle bomb.
Security forces had detonated the bomb before it reached the checkpoint, and had killed five of the attackers and wounded three others. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, which also wounded 13 people, including four civilians. Police found the body of one of the attackers behind the wheel of the vehicle that exploded.
