Five policemen were killed after unidentified gunmen opened fire at a police box in the centre of El-Arish, North Sinai.

Egypt’s Ministry of Interior announced that reinforcements have been deployed to chase the gunmen and that the area of the attack has been cordoned off by security personnel.

The attack, which also left three policemen injured, reportedly saw gunmen use a stolen security vehicle, reported Tahrir News.

The dead policemen have been identified as Tamer El-Eshmawy, Mohmaed Dinasoury, Mohamed Shehata, Mahmoud El-Sayed, and Ragab Ibrahim.

Up to 100 militants have been killed in Egypt’s North Sinai since the start of the year as part of military operations. In a recent statement, President Sisi said that terrorism in the area does not exceed more than one percent of North Sinai’s total land area.

Since the ouster of former President Mohammed Morsi, the Sinai has witnessed a wave of  violence, often targeting security forces.

A fact-sheet prepared by Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs put the death toll for terrorism acts which took place since January 2011 and until April 2014 at 971, including 664 security personnel.

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