Two police officers killed in Egypt’s Suez, Sinai

CAIRO — A police officer was killed after militants opened fire on security forces in the northeastern province of Suez on Sunday, a military spokesman said, the latest in a series of attacks against security forces in Egypt.

Egypt is facing an increasingly brazen Sinai-based insurgency that has killed hundreds of police and soldiers since the army ousted Islamist President Mohamed Morsi after mass protests against his rule in 2013.

The military spokesman said in a statement that two "terrorists" fired on security forces in the Badr Souks area of Suez. Security forces responded and killed one armed man. The other managed to flee. The shoot-out killed a police officer and wounded a soldier.

Separately, a police officer and police recruit were killed after a roadside bomb targeted their vehicle in El Arish, the capital of the North Sinai province. Three police recruits were also wounded.

And in an ominous turn, Sinai Province released a video last Wednesday threatening to kill a Croatian hostage within 48 hours if Muslim women prisoners were not freed. The deadline has supposedly expired with no word on the fate of the hostage.