Blast in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula injures 11 civilians

A car bomb explosion wounded 11 civilians in northern Arish city in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula on Tuesday when police were evacuating the area to set off a suspicious device, a security source told Xinhua.

"The bomb-rigged car was parking near a U-turn area in Assiut Street in Arish," the source said, noting that police and the military blew it up remotely. Those wounded were residents from nearby houses and at least eight of them are out of hospital after medical treatment.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the explosion. The accident came just days after a bomb explosion at a railway station in Egypt's Nile Delta province Minufiya killed two policemen and injured 15 people.

In late October, a blast targeting a big military checkpoint in Sheikh Zuweid city killed some 30 soldiers and injured tens of others. Egypt then announced a three-month curfew and a state of emergency in some parts of North Sinai in response to the attack.

Egypt has been facing a rising wave of terrorism since the military ousted former Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in July 2013. The following crackdown on Morsi supporters has left about 1, 000 people killed and thousands more arrested.

Anti-government attacks have extended from the Sinai Peninsula to the capital Cairo and other provinces across the country. The al-Qaida-inspired Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis in Sinai and its fellow Ajnad Misr groups have claimed responsibility for most of the attacks. The group even purportedly posted an audio statement online on Monday, claiming to pledge allegiance to the Islamic State militant group.
Sources: Xinhua - globaltimes.cn
12/11/14
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