At least 4 killed in Egypt's Sinai blast

At least four people were killed and two others wounded on Sunday during a blast in western Arish city of Egypt's restive North Sinai province bordering Israel and the Gaza Strip, official MENA news agency reported.

The report said the blast targeted an electricity company's vehicle which was on its way to do power maintenance.

"Three were killed on the scene, one with abdominal bleeding died upon arrival at Arish public hospital, and the two wounded had leg amputation," a security source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

On Saturday, also in Arish city, five police conscripts were shot dead by unknown gunmen, according to the Egyptian Interior Ministry.

The ministry's statement said the five recruits were on their way back from vacation to their police central security department when the assailants stopped their vehicle and gunned them down.

Egypt has been battling a growing wave of terrorism since the military removed former Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in July 2013 and launched a massive crackdown on his loyalists, leaving about 1,000 of them killed and thousands more arrested.

Anti-government terror activities have killed hundreds of police and military men in the Sinai Peninsula and other provinces over the past three years, with a Sinai-based militant group loyal to the Islamic State (IS) claiming responsibility for most of the attacks.

Source:  XINHUA