Al Arish, Egypt: Egypt’s Interior Ministry says a roadside bomb has killed five police conscripts and an officer and injured two others near the border town of Rafah in the restive Sinai Peninsula.

A security official says the Tuesday explosion hit a special police car assigned to detect explosive devices that failed to detect the bomb because it was hidden deep underground.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to brief the media.

Earlier this month, 11 police officials were killed in almost the same area by a roadside bomb detonated by remote control.

The Egyptian military, aided by police forces, is carrying out an offensive in the northern Sinai, a militant stronghold where it has killed and captured dozens of suspects in recent months.