4 killed, 12 injured in explosion in Egypt

Two policemen and two judges were killed when a car bomb exploded

At least four people -- two policemen and two judges -- were killed and twelve others injured today when a car bomb exploded outside a hotel in Egypt's restive north Sinai province where judges supervising parliamentary elections were residing.

The car exploded outside a hotel in Al-Arish, where the judges who monitored the elections were residing, which ended yesterday, security officials said.

Two policeman and two judges were killed in the explosion, state media reported.

Nine people were wounded in the blast outside the Swiss Inn hotel in Al-Arish, where Islamist militants are waging an insurgency, it said.

All those injured are civilians. A main coastal highway in the city has been shut down following the attack.

The security forces cordoned the area and are currently in search for other potential bombs.

The second round of parliamentary elections in Egypt was held on Sunday and Monday, its first legislative vote since the military overthrew former president Mohamed Morsi in 2013.

Egypt's north Sinai has witnessed many violent attacks by militants since the January 2011 revolution that toppled the ex-president Hosni Mubarak.

The attacks targeting police and military increased after the ouster of Islamist ex-president Morsi by military following massive protests against his rule.

Over 600 security personnel have been reported killed since then. The military has launched security campaigns in the area, arrested suspects and demolished houses that belong to terrorists, including those facilitating tunnels leading to the Gaza Strip.