Bomb kills 11 Egyptian security forces

CAIRO , Sept. 2 (UPI) -- A security convoy in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula was ambushed Tuesday, an attack that killed 11 police officers, Egyptian state media reported.

The incident was part of a yearlong campaign involving Egyptian military and police officers against Islamist militant groups that have held power in the Sinai region.

An official said the convoy struck a planted explosive device in the village of Wefaq, the site of a government raid Sunday against the Islamist Ansar Bayt al-Maqdid insurgents, in which eight militants were killed. A gunfire battle followed the explosion, the state news agency MENA reported.

The fight in Sinai, although it has damaged tourism in the area, has been a low-intensity conflict with occasional battles. At least six decapitated bodies were found in August in northern Sinai, a militant group claiming the victims were executed as spies. Several hundred Egyptian police officers and soldiers have been killed in the past year,