Egypt’s Islamic State claims responsibility for Sinai attack that killed 15 troops
CAIRO – The Islamic State’s branch in Egypt has claimed responsibility for a wave of deadly attacks that killed 15 Egyptian soldiers and three civilians the previous day in volatile northern Sinai.
A statement posted Friday on a [terrorist] website associated with the group, known as “Sinai Province,” says its “fighters” attacked seven checkpoints, killing “dozens of soldiers” on a main road in the Sinai Peninsula leading to the border with Gaza Strip.
Egyptian authorities said 15 soldiers were killed and 19 were wounded in an attack on a checkpoint on Thursday south of the town of Sheikh Zuweyid. Three civilians died in near-simultaneous attacks elsewhere in Sinai, suggesting careful planning by the [terrorists].
The attacks were the latest in a series of large-scale assaults by the Sinai-based branch.
