Daesh claims responsibility for attack in Egypt

CAIRO

Daesh terrorist organization claimed responsibility for Saturday’s attack in the restive Sinai Peninsula of Egypt, according to its propaganda website Amaq.

Four militants were shot dead by security forces as they attempted to attack a security checkpoint in the North Sinai city of Arish, local media said on Saturday.

Sinai has remained the epicenter of a deadly militant insurgency since mid-2013, when Mohamed Morsi -- Egypt’s first freely-elected president and a Muslim Brotherhood leader -- was ousted in a military coup.

Since then, hundreds of Egyptian security personnel have been killed in militant attacks across the volatile peninsula.

Reporting by Afra Aksoy; Writing by Sena Guler