EL-ARISH, Egypt (AP) — Egyptian security forces on Thursday arrested a militant wanted in connection with a deadly attack earlier this year on police and military officers in the restive Sinai Peninsula, officials said.

Ahmed Allam el-Hefny was detained in the town of Sheikh Zuweyid near the city of el-Arish in northern Sinai, security officials involved in the raid said on condition of anonymity because they aren’t authorized to brief the media. In September, el-Hefny was convicted in absentia and sentenced to life in prison for a June 2011 attack on el-Arish’s main police station and a bank. Because he was tried in absentia, he will be given a retrial now that he is in custody.