60 killed as IS targets Egyptian army

Cairo, July 1

At least 60 Egyptian soldiers were today killed as heavily-armed IS militants launched a wave of simultaneous attacks on army checkpoints, including three suicide bombings, in one of the biggest assaults in the restive Sinai Peninsula.

“More than 70 terrorist elements waged simultaneous attacks against five security checkpoints in North Sinai,” army spokesperson Brigadier General Mohamed Samir said in a statement on his Facebook page. Fighting between the dreaded militants and the soldiers is ongoing, with the army and the police currently chasing the attackers using ground and air force, security sources said.

The attack, which occurred in Sheikh Zuweid city of North Sinai, included suicide car bombings and heavy weapons that damaged large parts of the checkpoints, the sources said. The militants also took soldiers captive and seized weapons and 

several armoured vehicles, officials said. The Islamic State’s Egypt affiliate, Sinai Province, claimed responsibility for the attacks, it said in an online statement.

“In a blessed raid enabled by God, the lions of the caliphate have simultaneously attacked more than 15 checkpoints belonging to the apostate army,” the Sinai-based militant group Ansar Beit el-Maqdes, which changed its name after pledging allegiance to the IS, said.

The group said it attacked over 15 security sites and had carried out three suicide bombings. The outfit has claimed responsibility of many attacks against security forces in North Sinai. — Agencies

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