SIX Egyptian policemen have been killed by a roadside bomb in the Sinai peninsula.

The Egyptian interior ministry said two officers were also hurt in the attack on their armoured convoy in northern Sinai.

Militants in Sinai have intensified their attacks on the security forces after the military overthrew President Mohammed Morsi, of the Muslim Brotherhood last year.

The latest bombing took place between Rafah, bordering Gaza, and North Sinai's provincial capital el-Arish.

Responsibility for past attacks has been claimed by Ansar Beit al-Maqdism, an al-Qaeda-linked group.

The group says it is avenging the hundreds of Islamists killed and thousands detained in a crackdown on Mr Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood.

Earlier this week Egypt's tourism minister predicted the industry would recover as security improved.