Attacks in Sinai on the rise

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CAIRO, May 2 (UPI) -- An Egyptian policeman was killed and two injured in an attack on a checkpoint in northern Sinai, Egyptian security sources told al-Masry al-Youm.

Security sources told the Egyptian state media agency MENA, the Middle East News Agency, the checkpoint was hit by a rocket propelled grenade, al-Masry al-Youm said Wednesday morning.

Since the ouster of former President Hosni Mubarak last year, attacks on Egyptian police deployed in the Sinai Peninsula have increased, the daily said, adding the majority were carried out by armed Palestinian and al-Qaida groups, officials told the daily in a report on Tuesday.

"Sinai is now out of security control, and efforts exerted by the military and police forces have aimed to restore security, especially because a week ago Israel said Egypt is more dangerous to Israel than Iran, which the Jewish state accuses of trying to build nuclear weapons," Egyptian sources told the daily in an earlier report.

Armed Palestinian groups called Jaljalat, the Army of Islam, the Hamas military wing al-Qassam and groups affiliated with al-Qaida have attacked Egyptian police forces in Sheikh Zuwayed, central Sinai and Rafah, sources told the Egyptian daily.

Attacks include 16 on security checkpoints, three directed at a police stations in al-Arish in northern Sinai, over 30 attacks at the Central Security Forces station and four on other police stations elsewhere in the Sinai, the paper said.

Stolen cars and armed robberies in the area have increased, the daily said.