CAIRO — Egyptian security forces recently foiled an attempted suicide attack targeting a security post in North Sinai as violence escalates in the peninsula.

In a May 19 statement, Egypt’s Interior Ministry said security forces stationed at a police checkpoint in the area of al-Tloul confronted a militant wearing an explosive belt and killed him in a shootout. A machine gun with 112 rounds and two grenades were found in his possession. 

The failed attack came just a few days after another targeted a military checkpoint near the city of Rafah, close to the border with the Gaza Strip on May 11. At least five Egyptian soldiers including one officer were killed, according to the Egyptian army. In a May 11 statement, army spokesperson Gharib Abdel Hafez said a shootout erupted after soldiers detected movements by a group of militants in the vicinity and seven militants were killed in the clashes.

The May 7 attack on a water pumping station was one of the deadliest against Egyptian forces in Sinai in years. The next day, the Islamic State organization claimed responsibility for the attack, which killed 11 soldiers including an officer and five others wounded.