Islamist candidate in Egypt elections shot dead in Sinai

Mustafa Abdel Rahman, member of the controversial el-Nour party was killed by two motorbike-borne gunmen outside his home in the town of El-Arish in North Sinai, where government troops are battling Islamist insurgents.

North Sinai, where security forces are fighting an Islamist insurgency, is a bastion of the Egyptian affiliate of the jihadist Islamic State (IS) group.

Gunmen shot dead a Salafist candidate in Egypt’s parliamentary elections in North Sinai on Saturday, officials said, where religious fighters are waging an insurgency against the government.

Nur Party secretary general Galal al-Murra confirmed his death to AFP.

In a separate incident on Saturday three police officers were killed and eight injured, also in Arish, when an explosive device targeting their armored personnel carrier was detonated.

Egypt has been mired in violence that killed hundreds of police and soldiers since the ouster of former President Mohamed Morsi by the army in July 2013 following mass protests against his one-year rule.

The Egyptian military has been engaged in operations to quell acts of terrorism and militancy in the Sinai Peninsula.

The Daesh terror group has claimed responsibility for a recent bomb explosion that wounded four people in the Egyptian capital, Cairo.

The military has launched security campaigns in the area, arrested suspects and demolished hideouts belonging to terrorists, including those facilitating tunnels leading to the Gaza Strip.