CAIRO (Reuters) - Seven people including four police personnel were killed on Tuesday when a suicide bomber targeted police near a market in the North Sinai town of Sheikh Zuweid, Egypt’s interior ministry said in a statement.

The attacker was around 15 years old, the ministry said, and a six-year-old was among the dead. Twenty-six other people were wounded and have been transferred to hospital, it said.

The attack happened when security forces were conducting a sweep near the market, the statement said.

The head of investigations in the town and his assistant were among those killed, three security sources said.

The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack and said 15 people were killed or wounded. It identified the attacker as Abu Hagar al-Masry and said he had detonated an explosive vest when he was near a police foot patrol.

Egypt is battling an Islamist militant insurgency that has carried out attacks mainly in the remote Sinai Peninsula, where the military has been conducting a major security operation since February 2018. </s> Source: Xinhua| 2019-04-09 22:53:06|Editor: yan

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CAIRO, April 9 (Xinhua) -- Four policemen and three citizens were killed and 26 others were wounded on Tuesday in a suicide bomb attack in Sheikh Zuweid city of Egypt's North Sinai province, Egyptian Interior Ministry said in a statement.

"The attack was carried out by a suicide bomber who is about 15 years old," the ministry said, adding that a six-year-old child was among the seven killed.

The bombing took place while a police patrol was combing a marketplace area in Sheikh Zuweid. </s> "The suicide bomber aged 15 blew himself up" in a busy market area near a police station in the town of Sheikh Zuweid leaving seven dead and 26 wounded, an interior ministry statement said. </s> EL-ARISH, Egypt - Egyptian security officials say four policemen and two civilians have been killed in a suicide bombing in the restive northern Sinai Peninsula.

The officials said on Tuesday that the suicide bomber attacked a police checkpoint at a market in the town of Sheikh Zuweid.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media.

A local affiliate of the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack.

Egypt has for years been battling a long-running insurgency in North Sinai that is now led by an Islamic State affiliate. The fighting intensified in 2013 after the military overthrew an elected but divisive Islamist president. </s> EL-ARISH, Egypt — Egyptian security officials say four policemen and two civilians have been killed in a suicide bombing in the restive northern Sinai Peninsula.

The officials said on Tuesday that the suicide bomber attacked a police checkpoint at a market in the town of Sheikh Zuweid.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media.

A local affiliate of the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack.

Egypt has for years been battling a long-running insurgency in North Sinai that is now led by an Islamic State affiliate. The fighting intensified in 2013 after the military overthrew an elected but divisive Islamist president.

Authorities heavily restrict access to the northern Sinai, making it difficult to verify claims related to the fighting.

Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. </s> EL-ARISH, Egypt — Egyptian security officials say two separate attacks have killed three police conscripts and an officer in the restive northern Sinai Peninsula.

The officials said Wednesday that the first attack took place in the city of el-Arish when an explosive device targeted an armoured vehicle, killing a police officer and two conscripts.

Another explosive device hit an armoured vehicle in the town of Rafah, killing a conscript and wounding four others.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media.

No group claimed responsibility for the attacks, which bore the hallmarks of the Islamic State group.

The attacks came a day after an IS suicide bomber killed four policemen and three civilians, including a child, in the northern Sinai town of Sheikh Zuweid. </s> "The State of Qatar condemned the explosion that took place near a market in the city of Sheikh Zuweid", the Foreign Ministry said. The ministry added in the statement that Doha firmly rejected "violence and terrorism, regardless of motives and reasons".

READ MORE: Egypt Extends State of Emergency in Country for Another 3 Months — Reports

The attack by what the Egyptian Interior Ministry said was a 15-year-old suicide bomber wounded 26 people. The Daesh terrorist group reportedly claimed responsibility for the blast.

Comprehensive Operation – Sinai, a major anti-terrorist offensive launched by the country's armed forces and the Interior Ministry, kicked off in the north and the center of the peninsula in February 2018. Since then, hundreds of militants were killed and detained.

Cairo has been battling Islamic insurgents in the desert region for years. Police and security forces, as well as civilians, have frequently been the target of deadly attacks staged by Islamists.

* Daesh (ISIL/ISIS/IS/Islamic State) is a terrorist organisation banned in Russia and many other countries. </s> A suicide bomber killed two people in Egypt's restive North Sinai region on Thursday, a day after four headless bodies were found there.

The victims of the bombing were a civilian and a member of the security forces, security and medical sources said.

The bomber was shot before he reached a military checkpoint, his intended target, but his explosive belt detonated and killed the soldier and civilian, an Egyptian military spokesman said in a statement.

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS) armed group claimed responsibility for the attack via its Amaq website, saying five members of the security forces were killed or wounded.

Multiple armed groups, some linked to ISIL, are active in the Sinai Peninsula and Egypt's army launched a major operation there in February last year.

Thursday's bombing took place at a car park in the town of Sheikh Zuweid, near the border with the Gaza Strip.

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Separately, two security sources said four headless bodies were found in an empty street in the North Sinai town of Bir al-Abd on Wednesday. Their families reported that the four men, aged 23 to 51, had been kidnapped.

Fighters stopped several cars before taking five people away and forcing them to lie down on the ground, a security source and three residents said. They killed four and kidnapped the fifth.

ISIL claimed responsibility for the beheadings, saying the four were spies for the Egyptian military. Security services were hunting down the perpetrators.

Egypt's State Information Service could not immediately be reached for comment.

The Egyptian military, which launched its campaign in Sinai after an attack in November 2017 on a mosque in which hundreds of worshippers died, says hundreds of fighters have been killed. </s> A suicide bombing killed at least two people in Egypt’s North Sinai region on Thursday, a day after four headless bodies were found there, security and medical sources said, Reuters reported.

The victims of the bombing were a civilian and a member of the security forces, the sources said.

An Egyptian military spokesman said in a statement that security forces killed the bomber before he reached a checkpoint, which was his intended target. The spokesman confirmed that a member of the armed forces was killed after the bomber’s explosive belt detonated.

Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack via its Amaq agency, saying five members of the security forces were killed or injured.

Islamist militants, some linked to Islamic State, are active in the Sinai Peninsula, and security forces launched a major operation there in February last year.

Thursday’s bombing took place at a car park in the town of Sheikh Zuweid, near the border with the Gaza Strip, a security source and a medical source said.

READ: Over 1,000 rights violations in Egypt in 2019, says NGO

Separately, two security sources said four headless bodies were found in an empty street in the North Sinai town of Bir al-Abd on Wednesday. Their families had reported that the four men, aged 23 to 51, had been kidnapped, the sources said.

A security source and three residents said that militants stopped several cars before taking five people away and forcing them to lie down on the ground. They killed four and kidnapped the fifth, the security source and the residents said.

Islamic State claimed responsibility for the beheadings via the Amaq agency, saying the four were spies for the Egyptian military. A security source said the security services were trying to find and identify the perpetrators.

Egypt’s State Information Service could not immediately be reached for comment.

The Egyptian military, which launched its campaign in Sinai after a jihadist attack in November 2017 on a mosque in which hundreds of worshippers died, says hundreds of militants have been killed in the campaign.
A 15-year-old suicide bomber attacks a market in Sheikh Zuweid, Egypt, killing four policemen and three civilians, and injuring 27 others.