Officials say roadside bombing in Sinai Peninsula wounds 18 Egyptian police conscripts

EL-ARISH, Egypt – Officials in Egypt say a roadside bombing in the country's restive Sinai Peninsula has wounded 18 police conscripts.

Security officials say the blast Sunday morning targeted a bus carrying the conscripts in El-Arish as they traveled along a seafront road.

Hospital officials confirmed the casualty figure and said none of those hurt had life-threatening wounds. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they weren't authorized to discuss the attack with journalists.

The bombing is just the latest assault to target security forces in the Sinai.

Government forces have been carrying out an intensified hunt for Islamic militants in several northern Sinai towns. But in el-Arish, a more-densely populated area, government forces are more vulnerable to roadside bombs — which have become a recurrent weapon used against troops.