Suspected Islamist militants bomb police bus in Egypt’s Sinai

Nine Egyptian police conscripts were wounded in the Sinai Peninsula on Monday after a roadside bomb targeted a bus they were traveling in, security officials said.

The officials said that suspected Islamist militants are believed to have been responsible for the blast.

The bomb exploded on the road outside the town of Rafah, on the border with the Gaza Strip, according to the Associated Press.

The bus has reportedly been escorted by an armored car and was set off by remote control, the officials said.

The Egyptian armed forces have launched large scale military operations against militants in Sinai in an attempt to suppress the insurgency which erupted in the peninsula after the army overthrew Egypt’s Islamist President Mohammad Mursi on July 3.

On Sunday, Egypt’s military spokesman Ahmed Ali said the armed forces had seized a stockpile of anti-aircraft missiles in Sinai.

The spokesman also said the army will continue operations in Sinai until “terrorism” is defeated.

“Egypt’s national security has been under a threat because of the situation in Sinai,” Ali said, adding that security will be restored under a development plan in the region.

The military spokesman said the armed forces seized a stock of weapons in Sinai and arrested 309 people involved in recent violence. Two explosive devices under a control tower on the border with Gaza were also found.

“We also seized military uniforms which were used by Hamas,” Ali said.

Ali said the army recently destroyed more than 154 tunnels on the border with Gaza.