A roadside bomb explosion has killed a senior police officer in Egypt’s restive Sinai Peninsula.

The Egyptian Interior Ministry announced in a Wednesday statement that Brigadier General Ahmed Ibrahim was killed on his way back from a joint police and army security operation in the province’s capital city, el-Arish, when the bomb attack took place.

The ministry added that a second officer, Colonel Moataz Radwan, was wounded in the attack.

The security situation in Sinai is volatile, with ongoing fighting between the Egyptian army and militants since the current government in the country took power in 2013. Militant attacks, such as roadside bombings, frequently target security forces in Sinai.

The local militant group, Velayat Sinai, formerly known as Ansar Bait al-Maqdis, has claimed responsibility for most of the attacks in the region. The group has recently pledged allegiance to the ISIL terrorist group, which is actively operating in Iraq and Syria.

Sinai militants intensified terrorist attacks against security forces after former President Mohamed Morsi was ousted from power in 2013.

A state of emergency has been declared in the northwestern part of the Sinai Peninsula since a militant attack on an Egyptian army checkpoint killed more than 30 soldiers in October 2014.

The Egyptian military considers the Sinai Peninsula a safe haven for gunmen, who use the region as a base for their “acts of terror.”

The Sinai Peninsula is a triangular stretch of land measuring about 60,000 square kilometers (23,000 square miles) in area. It is situated between the Mediterranean Sea to the north, and the Red Sea to the south, and is the only part of Egyptian territory located in Asia, serving as a land bridge between Asia and Africa.

XLS/HJL/GHN