Policeman killed in militant attack in Egypt's Sinai

By Khaled al-Jayoushi

CAIRO

An Egyptian policeman was shot dead Thursday by unidentified gunmen in the northern Sinai Peninsula, according to a local security source.

“Unknown gunmen stopped a taxi carrying a police officer and his family in the North Sinai city of Al-Arish,” the source, preferring anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to media, told Anadolu Agency.

“They shot the police officer repeatedly, killing him instantly, before fleeing the scene,” the source said.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, on which Egypt’s Interior Ministry has yet to comment.

Sinai has remained a hotbed of militant activity since mid-2013, when Mohamed Morsi -- Egypt’s first freely-elected president and a Muslim Brotherhood leader -- was ousted in a military coup.

Since then, hundreds of Egyptian security personnel have been killed in attacks across the volatile peninsula, while Egyptian security forces wage a fierce campaign against what they describe as Sinai-based "terrorist groups".