Gunmen kill 2 Egypt judges, prosecutor in Sinai

Shooting in El-Arish by Islamic State group leaves 4 dead, one injured; police put on high alert across country

By AFP 16 May 2015, 6:42 pm

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Army trucks carry Egyptian military tanks in El-Arish, in the northern Sinai Peninsula in August 2012. (photo credit: AP)

Gunmen killed two Egyptian judges and a prosecutor Saturday in the Sinai Peninsula, where security forces are battling an Islamist insurgency spearheaded by an Islamic State group affiliate, officials said.

The shooting in North Sinai’s provincial capital El-Arish also killed the driver of the car the judicial officials were in and wounded another prosecutor, the Health Ministry said.

Police earlier said three judges were killed in the attack that came hours after a court in Cairo sentenced ousted president Mohamed Morsi to death for his role in a mass jailbreak during the 2011 uprising.

Some of Morsi’s fellow defendants included jihadists in Sinai, where militants often attack members of the security forces.

Police said the officials came under attack while being driven to a court hearing in El-Arish.

Health Ministry spokesman Hossam Abdel Ghaffar told AFP four people were killed in the attack.

“Two judges, a prosecutor and the driver of the car were killed, while another prosecutor was wounded,” he said.

Following the attack, the first of its kind in Sinai, the Interior Ministry put police on high alert across the country and suspended all leave, a ministry official said.