Egyptian police killed in Sinai bomb attack

At least nine policemen have been killed in a bomb attack on a convoy in
Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, officials say.
The bomb was reportedly detonated remotely as they travelled through the
village of Wefaq, near the Gaza border.
Security forces have been carrying out an offensive in northern Sinai,
killing and capturing dozens of suspected members of jihadist militant
groups.
Militants have stepped up attacks on soldiers and police since the
overthrow of President Mohammed Morsi last year.
The main Sinai-based jihadist group, Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, has
acknowledged in statements that several of its leaders have been killed
in the recent security operation.
Last week, it also announced that it had beheaded four Egyptian
civilians whose bodies were found in August.
It accused them of providing Israel with intelligence for an air strike
that killed three of its fighters in late July.
A video published online showed armed, masked men standing over four
captives as a statement was read out. They were then decapitated.
The footage was reminiscent of videos of killings posted by Islamic
State, a jihadist group that has taken control of large swathes of Iraq
and Syria. However, Ansar Beit al-Maqdis is not believed to be linked to
IS.