Four killed in Egypt suicide bombing

A booby trapped car blew up Thursday morning at a checkpoint in Egypt's volatile Sinai peninsula, leaving three soldiers and one police personnel dead and four others wounded, Xinhua reported citing official news agency MENA.

A suicide bomber drove his explosives-laden car into the Al Raiysa checkpoint in the main city of Arish in north Sinai, MENA quoted a military official as saying.

The attack occurred one day after four armed forces personnel were injured in a roadside bomb explosion in central Sinai.

So far, no group has claimed responsibility for Thursday's attack.

Attacks against security forces and soldiers in northern Sinai, an area that borders Israel and the Gaza Strip, have increased sharply since former president Mohamed Morsi was toppled by the military July 3 this year.

Nine soldiers and policemen were killed Monday in a wave of deadly explosions in Egypt's capital Cairo and southern Sinai, signalling the potential spread of attacks by Islamist militants, already active in northern Sinai.

The region of southern Sinai, which includes the popular tourism resort of Sharm El Sheikh, has been mostly quiet even during the time of the country's nationwide turmoil since former president Hosni Mubarak was ousted in January 2011.