Suicide bomber hits police base, kills 1

1 civilian and 24 policemen have been left injured following a suicide bomb attack on a police base in Sinai peninsula, Egypt, BBC reports.

The attack which happened near the provincial capital of al-Arish comes days before a major investment conference is set to be held in the region.

Yesterday, 1 person was killed and several others were injured in separate attacks at Alexandria.

Egypt has long fought an Islamist insurgency in the Sinai peninsula, which has intensified since the overthrow of President Morsi in 2013.

In November 2014, a group which was formerly known as Ansar Beit al-Maqdis (Champions of Jerusalem)pledged allegiance to Islamic State and changed its name to Sinai Province.

Previous attacks have been blamed on the group.

While there has been no immediate claim for this latest attack, police say the bomber drove a water tanker filled with explosives into the rear gate of the base but police fired at it, preventing it from gaining access to the base and detonating the explosives in the process.

No fewer than 30 people, mostly soldiers, were killed and dozens wounded in a series of attacks in the north of the province on January 30.