Bomb Attack Kills 3 Egyptian Soldiers in Sinai
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - At least three Egyptian soldiers have been killed and three others critically wounded in a roadside bomb attack on their vehicle in the North African country’s restive Sinai Peninsula.
“Gunmen remotely detonated a roadside bomb when a military vehicle drove by, near a security checkpoint in Sheikh Zuweid city,” a police official said on condition of anonymity.
The development comes a day after army spokesman, Brigadier General Mohamed Samir, said Egyptian government forces killed 70 militants and arrested 118 others during separate aerial attacks and security raids in Sinai over the past week.
The militants were killed during operations in the city of el-Arish, situated 344 kilometers (214 miles) northeast of the capital, Cairo, and in the border town of Rafah as well as the town of Sheikh Zuweid, situated 334 kilometers (214 miles) northeast of Cairo.
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.”
Since the ouster of former president, Mohamed Mursi, in July 2013, gunmen have launched terrorist attacks in Sinai, killing Egyptian security forces.
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.
