A security checkpoint in Rafah on the borders, August 2012 - Reuters

NORTH SINAI, Dec. 12 (Aswat Masriya) - An explosive device detonated as a police vehicle drove by on Saturday, leaving 10 Central Security Forces personnel injured, sources told Aswat Masriya.

The explosion took place south of al-Arish, which is North Sinai's capital city and its largest urban area.

The injured include nine police recruits and one police officer, who were left with shrapnel wounds scattered across their bodies and have been hospitalised.

Last month, three policemen and the attacker were killed in a suicide bombing outside the police club.

Also in November, attacks on North Sinai’s Swiss Inn Hotel left seven killed, in addition to the three militants involved in the attacks.

The hotel housed judges overseeing parliamentary elections and journalists covering the electoral process. Two judges were killed in the high profile incident.

Militancy inside Egypt has surged since the military ouster of former president Mohamed Mursi in July 2013. While the vast majority of bombings and shootings take place in North Sinai, other parts of the country have been affected too.

Security personnel are the main targets of attacks but in May, three prosecutors and a driver were killed when gunmen opened fire on their vehicle in North Sinai's Arish city.

Egyptian authorities say they have killed hundreds of militants in Sinai in security crackdowns.