Sinai Peninsula
Sinai PeninsulaFlash 90

An explosion in a town in the northern Sinai Peninsula on Saturday killed at least nine people of the same family, Egyptian security and medical officials said, according to The Associated Press.

The officials said the explosion in Bir al-Abd also wounded six. It was not immediately clear who was behind the shelling and there were no additional details.

Separately, officials said seven security forces were wounded in two attacks in Bir al-Abd and the border town of Rafah.

The officials demanded anonymity because they weren’t authorized to brief reporters.

Egypt has been fighting an insurgency in the Sinai Peninsula for several years, which at times has spilled over into other parts of the country. Most of the attacks this time period have been claimed by the Sinai Province, the Islamic State (ISIS) affiliate in Egypt.

The country has been under a state of emergency since April of 2018, after two suicide bombings at churches claimed by ISIS killed at least 45 people in the cities of Tanta and Alexandria.

In February of 2018, Egypt launched operation “Sinai 2018” in an effort to rid the Sinai Peninsula of Islamic terrorists.