CAIRO, Mar 19 (Aswat Masriya) - Thirteen Egyptian policemen were killed when a mortar shell struck a North Sinai checkpoint on Saturday, the interior ministry said. 

The attack targeted the Safa checkpoint on the ring road in the capital of North Sinai province al-Arish, the ministry added in a statement published on its Facebook page. 

Militancy inside Egypt has seen a significant rise since the military ouster of president Mohamed Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood in July 2013, after mass protests against his rule. Most attacks occur in North Sinai, targeting security forces.

According to separate statements by the armed forces over the past year alone, hundreds of suspected militants have been killed and hundreds more arrested in multiple security campaigns launched by the army.