A taxi driver and three policemen were shot dead by gunmen on Wednesday in Arish, North Sinai, in what appears to be the latest attack by Islamist militants against Egyptian police personnel.
The attack happened in the Masaaed area in the west of Arish, a city that is the scene of frequent encounters between security forces and insurgents.
According to eyewitnesses and other sources, several gunmen opened fire on the policemen while they were in a cab. The policemen were killed immediately, while the driver died en route to hospital.
The three policemen have been named as Mostafa Fathy, Mohamed al-Yamany and Sayyed Salama.
A state of emergency is currently in place in North Sinai as the Egyptian police and army fight insurgency in the peninsula.
While security forces have claimed many successes in killing and capturing insurgents in recent years, attacks on security personnel are a weekly occurrence.
Attacks typically take the form of roadside bomb blasts or attacks on military checkpoints, although there has been an uptick in drive-by shootings targeting policemen in recent months.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
