Police officer shot dead in Egypt's Sinai

Interior ministry says riot police officer was shot while on patrol in increasingly restive city of El-Arish.

Gunmen have killed a police officer in Egypt's restive Sinai peninsula, according to the interior ministry.

A riot police officer was shot in the chest on Friday while on patrol in the city of El-Arish, the ministry said in a statement released on Saturday.

Attacks against security forces on the peninsula have increased since a July 3 military coup deposed President Mohamed Morsi. Since then, his supporters have been organizing regular protests calling for his return.

Meanwhile, the health ministry raised the toll in Friday's violence to eight people killed and 221 injured, most of them in clashes between Morsi supporters and local residents.

Those killed included two police officers shot in a drive-by shooting which targeted their police station in Cairo.

Violence in Egypt peaked on August 14 when police, backed by snipers and bulldozers, attacked two Muslim Brotherhood-led sit-ins in the capital.

The move caused days of nationwide violence that has killed hundreds of people, most of them Morsi's supporters.

Many retaliated by attacking police stations, torching churches and setting government buildings on fire.

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