Officer killed in terror attack on Egypt’s Sinai airport

Cairo: An officer was killed and two others wounded in a terrorist attack on an airport in Arish city of North Sinai province bordering Israel and the Palestinian Gaza Strip, an Egyptian military spokesman said on Tuesday.

“A shelling attack targeted Arish airport, leaving an officer dead and two others wounded and causing partial damage of one of the helicopters,” Xinhua quoted the military spokesman Tamer al-Refaay as saying.

The attack came during the visit of the Defence and Interior Ministers to check on the security conditions in Arish city, according to the statement.

Terror attacks in Egypt killed hundreds of policemen and soldiers as well as dozens of the Coptic minority since the military toppled former Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in July 2013 due to mass protests against his one-year rule and his currently outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group.

Most of the attacks were claimed by a Sinai-based terrorist group loyal to the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group.

On November 24, a terrorist attack against a mosque in a town of Arish city killed at least 310 Muslim worshippers and wounded over 120 others, marking the deadliest terror operation and the first against a Muslim mosque in Egypt’s modern history.

But no group has yet claimed responsibility for this one.

—IANS