An Al-Qaeda-inspired group based in Egypt's Sinai has claimed responsibility for a suicide car bomb that killed 15 people, the deadliest such attack since president Mohamed Morsi's overthrow.
The group, whose name in English means Partisans of Jerusalem, had previously claimed credit for bombings in Sinai and the attempted assassination of interior minister Mohamed Ibrahim in Cairo in September.
The group on Wednesday told soldiers and policemen to abandon their posts "to preserve their religion and lives".
It said it carried out Tuesday's attack in response to the "apostate regime's war on Islamic sharia, it's shedding of Muslim blood and violation of our women's and sisters' honour."
Attacks by the group have intensified since the military ousted Islamist president Morsi on July 3.
Earlier on Wednesday Egyptian police arrested Morsi's former prime minister, Hisham Qandil, who is facing a one-year jail sentence for failing to respect a court ruling while in office.
