Publish Date : Wednesday 19 April 2017 - 12:32
Daesh attack in Egypt’s Sinai kills 1 police officer, injures 4
A picture taken on April 16, 2017 shows a general view of the Monastery of St. Catherine in Egypt's south Sinai. (Photos by AFP)
Islam Times - Armed men have attacked Egyptian security forces close to the St. Catherine Monastery in the country’s Sinai Peninsula, killing one police officer and wounding four more.
The Daesh terrorist group claimed responsibility for the Tuesday attack on the security checkpoint, which is situated some 800 meters from the monastery.
St. Catherine is one of the world’s most important Christian sites and was built in the late 6th century and is registered as a UNESCO world heritage site.
The incident comes just over one week after the Takfiri terrorist group claimed responsibility for two deadly bombings on Christian churches in the country.
On April 9, at least 17 people were killed and more than 40 injured after a bomb targeted a church in Alexandria. The attack took place just hours after a church in the city of Tanta near Cairo was targeted with a remote-controlled bomb, killing at least 27 people and wounding around 80 others.
A three-month state of emergency was also announced by President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and approved by parliament in the aftermath of the attacks.
Meanwhile, Egyptian police have arrested a man allegedly involved in the church bombings.
The arrestee, Ali Mahmoud Mohamed Hassan, was one of 19 suspects whose names were made public by the police after the blasts.
On Monday, Egyptian officials arrested 13 people suspected of planning attacks on the country’s minority Christians as well as security forces.
Story Code: 629039
