CAIRO (Sputnik) — At least 6 people were killed and 17 others wounded in a shootout between the Egyptian police and perpetrators of an attack in the Egyptian city of Arish, the largest city on the Sinai Peninsula, Masrawy newspaper reported Monday. The police officers, belonging to the bank security service, and bystanders are among the wounded people.
Unidentified militants attempted to rob a bank, which resulted in clashes with the police. The attackers drove up to the AlAhli bank branch, some of them entered the bank while others opened fire on a police post near the Mar Girgis Church.
The roads in the center of the city have been blocked, all schools and institutions have suspended their work, the newspaper added.
Egypt has been fighting a jihadist insurgency in northern Sinai since the army overthrew then-President Mohamed Morsi in 2013. Police and security forces have frequently been the target of deadly attacks staged by Islamists in the area.
