The group released a short statement online saying that it fired a Kornet anti-tank guided missile at a helicopter at the airport.
According to the Armed Forces, at the time of the attack, Minister of Defence Sobhi Sedky and Minister of Interior Magdy Abdel-Ghaffar were in El-Arish city to inspect police and army forces in the governorate.
Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis has claimed responsibility for most attacks against security and army forces in North Sinai in the past three years.
The Egyptian military has for several years been fighting an Islamist terrorist nsurgency based in a a small strip in North Sinai. Terrorists have killed hundreds of soldiers and policemen, and hundreds of terrorists the have also been killed in extensive campaigns to root out the insurgency.
Source: Ahram Online
