An Egyptian police officer was shot dead in a militant attack on a checkpoint in the eastern city of Ismailia on Thursday. The attackers, driving a motorcycle, opened fire on the checkpoint and a bullet hit Captain Ahmad Abu-Douma in the chest. Abu-Douma was rushed to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead of the fatal injury. Since the ouster of president Mohamed Morsi in July 3, attacks against army and police personnel have skyrocketed. On Wednesday, eleven soldiers were killed when a car bomb went off near their bus in north Sinai Peninsula two days after a senior police officer was shot dead near his home in east Cairo.