Security forces foil attempted attack at Arish checkpoint

CAIRO – 27 December 2017: Security forces thwarted an attempted attack at a checkpoint near North Sinai’s Arish city on Tuesday night.

One of the terrorists was injured in an exchange of fire with security forces and another one managed to flee, according to security sources.

Gun-wielding terrorists riding two motorcycles attempted to break in a security checkpoint near Al-Arish city and then started firing at security forces stationed there.

North Sinai has been a staging ground for militants operating in Egypt for decades. It is also home to the Islamic State’s Egyptian branch, which has been primarily targeting Christians and security forces in the area.

Since the ouster of ex-Muslim brotherhood- affiliated President Mohamed Morsi, Egypt has been witnessing growing waves of extremism washing over society and spawning numerous deadly attacks, of which most recently was the terrorist attack that hit Al-Rawdah Mosque and left more than 302 Friday prayers congregates dead in late November.