Two policemen were shot dead in Egypt's North Sinai province, the Interior Ministry said in a statement Thursday.

Four masked gunmen approached the house where the two policemen resided in Al Arish, the capital city of Egypt's North Sinai province, and opened fire, according to the ministry.

Armed militants have chosen the Sinai Peninsula as a center for most of their operations.

Attacks against security personnel have escalated following the army's 2013 removal of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi from power in response to mass protests against his rule.

Hundreds of police and army personnel have been killed in these attacks.

Ansar Beit Al-Maqdes, an armed group affiliated with the Islamic State (IS) in Sinai, has claimed responsibility for most of the attacks.

source : xinhua