Thirty six others have been injured in the attacks in the town of Al-Arish, in North Sinai, where the army is battling an Islamist insurgency that has spiked since the 2013 ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi.
Suspected militants fired mortar rounds and used "car bombs" in the consecutive attacks that targeted the headquarters of the North Sinai security directorate in the provincial capital of Al-Arish, a nearby army base, a hotel and several security checkpoints, state TV and the Ahram Arabic news website reported.
ًWalls of surrounding buildings were cracked and windows were smashed, as troops combed the area in search of suspects.
The office of flagship newspaper Ahram in Al-Arish, located near the targeted police building, was slightly damaged in the attack, office head Ahmed Selim said.
The building was vacant during the time of the attack due to a dusk-to-dawn curfew imposed in North Sinai late in October, following deadly militant attacks that killed 31 soldiers earlier in the month, the worst violence on Egyptian troops in recent times.
Two army personnel were wounded in a separate attack on a security checkpoint in the North Sinai town of Rafah.
The military said in a statement that the violence came in response to the "successful" security campaign against militants in the restive province, without elaborating on the death or injury toll.
Egypt's army has struggled to crush the militant insurgency in the peninsula, which has at times expanded to mainland cities, including Cairo.
Militants have mainly targeted police and troops, killing hundreds in the past 18 months.
The violence has prompted the army to demolish houses and clear residents in the North Sinai border city of Rafah to set up a buffer zone aimed at deterring militant infiltration and arms smuggling.
http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/121728.aspx
29/1/15
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Related:
Egypt Boosts Army Presence in N Sinai Amid Series of Gas Pipeline Attacks
Egypt extends opening of Rafah border crossing (Egypt initially planned to open the border Sunday and Monday only)
Αίγυπτος: Δέκα νεκροί σε συγκρούσεις μεταξύ στρατού και ισλαμιστών
Sinai buffer zone width increased to 1km (Egypt army)
Blast in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula injures 11 civilians
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Egyptian militant group claims Sinai attacks ...
ReplyDeleteIslamic State's Egyptian wing has claimed responsibility for a series of attacks that killed at least 27 security personnel.
The attacks in North Sinai represented some of the worst anti-government violence in months.
They came as commemorations around the anniversary of the 2011 uprising turned violent.
Egypt's government faces an Islamist insurgency based in Sinai and growing discontent with what critics perceive as heavy-handed security tactics.
A series of tweets from the Sinai Province's Twitter account claimed responsibility for the attacks that took place within hours of one another last night...............http://www.rte.ie/news/2015/0130/676596-egypt/
30/1/15
Egypt's Sisi cuts short Ethiopia visit after 30 killed in Sinai...
ReplyDelete(Reuters) - Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi cut short a visit to Ethiopia for an African Union summit on Friday, after Islamic State's Egyptian wing claimed the killing of at least 30 security personnel in the Sinai Peninsula.
Sisi's office said in a statement that Sisi would return to Cairo after Friday morning's opening session.
The four separate attacks on security forces in North Sinai on Thursday night were among the bloodiest in years. Most of the casualties occurred in the bombing of a military hotel and base in the heavily guarded provincial capital, al-Arish................http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/01/30/us-egypt-violence-sinai-idUSKBN0L22J920150130?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews
30/1/15