Militants kill 15 Egypt soldiers, 2 civilians in Sinai
At least 15 Egyptian troops and two civilians have been killed after militants ambushed a group of soldiers in restive Sinai, security officials say.
According to reports, in the course of at least two attacks on Thursday, gunmen opened fire on troops with automatic rifles at checkpoints in the North Sinai towns of Sheikh Zuweid and Rafah, killing 15 troops and wounding several others. Two civilians were also reportedly killed in the attack.
Seven militants are said to have been killed in the ensuing exchanges of fire.
A third attack was also reported in North Sinai; however, police did not specify the location.
Elsewhere, a house east of the provincial capital El-Arish was hit by a mortar shell and three civilians were injured, police and health officials said.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but the Takfiri militant group calling itself Ansar Bait al-Maqdis has claimed responsibility for most of the attacks in the region. The group has recently pledged allegiance to the Takfiri ISIL terrorist group and changed its name to Velayat Sinai.
Since the ouster of former president, Mohamed Morsi, in July 2013, gunmen have launched terrorist attacks in Sinai, killing Egyptian security forces.
A state of emergency has been declared in the northern part of the Sinai Peninsula since a militant attack on an Egyptian army checkpoint killed more than 30 soldiers in October 2014.
The Egyptian military considers the Sinai Peninsula a safe haven for gunmen, who use the region as a base for their “acts of terror.”
The Egyptian security forces say they have killed more than 172 militants since February in recent operations.
HJM/HMV
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