At least one police officer and six conscripted soldiers were killed in Egypt’s restive North Sinai on Tuesday night in an attack by militants, according to the ministry of interior.
The attack targeted an assembly area for police southwest of the city of Arish in North Sinai, the ministry said in a statement.
Four militants were killed after an explosive belt worn by one of the assailants detonated, the statement added, and security forces confiscated explosive belts, automatic weapons and hand grenades found with the group.
The High State Security Prosecution have opened an investigation, according to the ministry.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, the second in Sinai in less than one month, after Islamic State (IS) militants killed eight security personnel on the first day of the Muslim Eid al-Fitr holiday.