CAIRO, Nov. 4 (Aswat Masriya) - The Egyptian Interior Ministry has clarified that three policemen and the perpetrator were killed in the suicide bombing  outside the police club, rather than the five Aswat Masriya reported earlier today based on an official's statement.

Before the interior ministry's statement, Emad al-Dahshan, a prosecution official in North Sinai told Aswat Masriya the bodies of three policemen were found, as well as the remains of a policeman, a civilian and the suicide bomber.

The interior ministry said in a statement that the attacker attempted to break into the police club but hit a concrete barrier outside, where the bomb detonated. Police clubs across the country are social gathering clubs for members of the police force and their families.   

Aswat Masriya could not independently verify the content of this statement.  Anti-terrorism legislation imposes heavy fines on news organizations that contradict official statements.

Sinai-based militant group Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis claimed responsibility for the attack, in a statement circulated on social media, which Aswat Masriya could not independently verify. 

Militancy inside Egypt has seen a significant rise since the military ouster of Islamist President Mohamed Mursi in July 2013, following mass protests against his rule.