04 Feb 2018 | 05:04 PM UTC
Egypt: Roadside bomb kills three people in North Sinai province February 4
Roadside bomb explosion kills three people and wounds six others south of Al-Arish (North Sinai province) February 4; Islamic State-Sinai Province (IS-SP) suspected to have carried out attack
Event
A roadside bomb explosion in North Sinai province killed three people, including two members of the Egyptian security forces, and wounded six others on Sunday, February 4. According to Egyptian security officials, the explosive device detonated on a road to the south of Al-Arish on Sunday. Although no group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, Islamic State-Sinai Province (IS-SP) militants are suspected to have planted the bomb. Additional militant attacks on security forces and civilians are possible in North Sinai province in the coming weeks.
Context
The Sinai Peninsula has been the epicenter of frequent attacks by IS-affiliated militants since 2013 - usually targeting security forces or minority Coptic Christians. On November 29, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi ordered the Egyptian military to stabilize the restive Sinai peninsula within the next three months, telling security forces to use "all brute force necessary" to restore security in the region. Previously, al-Sisi warned that the risk of terrorism had increased in Egypt as IS's major territorial losses in Iraq and Syria have caused many of its militants to travel to Egypt. Such groups operate on a smaller scale outside the peninsula, including in the Nile Delta.
Egypt remains under a state of emergency, originally declared following IS attacks on churches in Alexandria and Tanta, which killed at least 47 people on Palm Sunday in April 2017.
Advice
Individuals in North Sinai province are advised to remain vigilant for potential militant activity, report all suspicious objects or behavior, and adhere to all instructions issued by the local authorities.
In general, due to the prevailing threat of terrorism, individuals throughout Egypt should report any suspicious objects or behavior to the authorities and always be on guard when visiting sites deemed particularly vulnerable to an attack (e.g. public transportation, train stations, ports, airports, public or government buildings, embassies or consulates, international organizations, schools and universities, religious sites, markets, hotels and restaurants frequented by foreigners/Westerners, festivals, etc.). Some governments advise their nationals against all travel to the Sinai Peninsula due to the persistent terrorist threat.
