Sinai bomb kills six Egypt policemen: ministry

CAIRO: A bomb hit an Egyptian security force convoy in the Sinai Peninsula on Tuesday, killing six policemen in the restive region where jihadists launch regular attacks.

Two policemen were also wounded in the attack on the road between North Sinai provincial capital El-Arish and the town of Rafah on the Gaza border, the interior ministry said.

"An explosive device went off near one of the APCs (armoured personnel carriers) of a joint police and army security convoy on the road between El-Arish and Rafah, killing six policemen including an officer and wounding two others," the ministry said in a statement.

It said security forces had cordoned off the area and an investigation was being carried out.The attack has not been claimed but the Sinai Peninsula is a hotbed of militant groups who regularly attack security forces in retaliation for a government crackdown against Islamist supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi.

The crackdown targeting Morsi´s supporters has left at least 1,400 people dead since his ouster on July 3, 2013.Then-army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi ousted Morsi, Egypt´s first democratically elected president, after millions protested against the Islamist´s one-year rule.

More than 15,000 Morsi backers and members of his Muslim Brotherhood movement have also been jailed since his ouster.

The authorities say hundreds of police and army personnel have also been killed by militants since Morsi´s ouster.

Sisi was later elected president, riding a wave of popularity following the crackdown.