Gunmen kill 3 Egyptian policemen in North Sinai

Three Egyptian policemen from the North Sinai Security Directorate and a civilian were killed on Thursday (January 4th) by gunmen who ambushed them on the al-Arish-Qantra highway in North Sinai, the interior ministry said.

The gunmen stopped one vehicle carrying three policemen -- al-Sayed Mustafa Ghoneim, 30, Ibrahim Mohammed Hassan, 30, and Ahmed Mossad al-Alfi, 22, according to a ministry statement.

"After the gunmen identified the policemen, they shot them dead," the statement said.

The gunmen opened fire on another vehicle carrying two civilians, killing one of them and wounding the other in his right knee, before they fled the scene, it said.

The victims have been transferred to al-Arish Hospital, while security forces have stepped up their measures to besiege the area and arrest the gunmen.

The vast desert is no longer a refuge for "Islamic State of Iraq and Syria" (ISIS) and al-Qaeda elements after the army besieged most of their hideouts in Sinai, said Col. Khaled Okasha, a retired army officer who serves on the National Council for Combating Terrorism.

"Terrorism in North Sinai will end very soon following repeated confirmations by the political leadership that the area will be developed," he told Al-Mashareq.

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