ISIS kill seven Egyptian police officers in 'cowardly' attack

Co-ordinated attacks in the north of the Sinai peninsula

FILE - This Jan. 9, 2017 file photo, posted on a file sharing website, by the Islamic State Group in Sinai, a militant organization, shows a deadly attack by militants on an Egyptian police checkpoint, in el-Arish, north Sinai, Egypt. Arabic reads, "The advance of the squad to kill any apostates left alive."  In a 134-page report released Tuesday, May 28, 2019, Human Rights Watch, a leading international rights group, accused Egypt’s security forces of committing widespread abuses against civilians -- some of which “amount to war crimes” -- in the Sinai Peninsula, where Egypt has been battling Islamic militants for years. The group said it documented “crimes, including mass arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances, torture, extrajudicial killings, and possibly unlawful air and ground attacks against civilians.” (Islamic State Group in Sinai, via AP, File)
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Seven Egyptian police officers were killed in clashes in northern Egypt, the country's interior ministry said on Wednesday.

Four militants were also killed in the fighting near the city of Arish, in the north of the Sinai Peninsula, on Tuesday night.

ISIS carried out simultaneous attacks, according to a statement by the group's Amaq news agency, and security sources told Reuters that the militants used at least 10 vehicles.

The UAE's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation condemned the attack, which was claimed by ISIS.

"The UAE expresses its vehement condemnation of these criminal acts and its principled rejection of all acts of violence and terrorism," the statement said.

''Such cowardly, terrorist acts will not weaken the resolve of Egyptian people to continue their fight against terrorism, which has no country, religion or ethics,'' the ministry said.

"This terrorist act is completely incompatible with all religious and humanitarian values and principles," it added.

Egyptian security forces have been battling Islamist militants in the Sinai Peninsula for years and launched a counter-insurgency campaign in the area in February 2018.

Earlier this month militants attacked a checkpoint in North Sinai, an assault that left eight security personnel dead according to the interior ministry.