One dead in North Sinai bombing, suspected assailants wounded

A security officer died and three soldiers were injured in an explosion in Arish, North Sinai, on Saturday, the privately owned Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper reported.

A bomb was planted in La’afen District, near the La’afen-Arish road, by a number of armed assailants riding a motorcycle, according to a source quoted by the state-owned Egynews. The bomb exploded when an armored vehicle later passed by. The injured were taken to Arish Military Hospital. 

Security forces said they shot three unknown gunmen on a motorcycle, at the same time of the explosion and in the same district. The gunmen had refused to stop at a security checkpoint. The wounded men were taken to the hospital for treatment and are under investigation on suspicion of being involved in the explosion.

Also on Saturday, a bomb squad detonated a bomb found near the State Legislation Authority Building in Arish. The homemade device was packed with nails and gunpowder, the state-owned news outlet reported. No casualties were reported.

Meanwhile, in downtown Cairo, a bomb squad detonated an F-1 grenade found in the Boulaq al-Dakrour district, next to the Zeinen Bus Station, Al-Masry Al-Youm reported. Lieutenant Amr Hegazy, in charge of investigations, said that the grenade may have been lost earlier from an army checkpoint.