CAIRO, Dec 8 (Aswat Masriya) Egyptian authorities thwarted a plan to carry out two suicide attacks on security personnel in North Sinai, an army spokesman said on Sunday in an official statement.

The security forces halted a car bomb that exploded before reaching a security camp in Shiekh Zuwied, according to Army Spokesman Ahmed Mohamed Ali.

Similarly, the forces foiled an attempt targeting a police patrol on a highway, said the statement.

Egypt's government has launched a security crackdown in the lawless peninsula following repeated attacks on Egyptian army and police checkpoints.

The attacks significantly increased after the military's ouster of Islamist President Mohamed Mursi on July 3 following mass protests against his rule.