3 yıl önce

Several Egyptian soldiers killed in Sinai bomb attack

The Sinai Peninsula has been a hotbed of militancy for years but security forces also face accusations of human rights abuses.

AP Archive

Egyptian military has struggled for years to contain the militancy in the volatile Sinai region.

A roadside bomb exploded in the restive northern part of the Sinai Peninsula, killing seven Egyptian soldiers, security and medical officials have said.

The dead included an officer, and six others were wounded in late Thursday attack.

The troops were riding an armored vehicle when the bomb went off in New Rafah, a town on the border with Palestine's Gaza city, added the officials on Friday.

Daesh claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement on one of its affiliated websites.

In a similar attack last month, Daesh militants ambushed a checkpoint in the town of Sheikh Zuweid, killing at least five troops and wounding at least six others.

Egypt has been battling militants in northern Sinai for years.

Violence and instability there intensified after the 2013 military ouster of Mohammed Morsi, the democratically elected leader of the country.

The militants have carried out numerous attacks, mainly targeting Egyptian security forces, minority Christians and those who they accuse of collaborating with the military and police.

Also on Thursday, the the spokesman of Egypt’s armed forces, Lt Col Gharib Abdel Hafez Gharib issued a statement saying that a total of nine troops were killed and wounded in clashes with militants in Sinai.

However, he did not provide the breakdown of the casualties. It also remained unclear which attack he was referring to.

Gharib added that the armed forces had killed 13 militants and confiscated 15 automatic rifles and ammunition in Northern and Central Sinai.

He did not specify when exactly these killings happened.

The fight against militants in Sinai has largely taken place hidden from the public eye, with journalists, non-residents and outside observers barred from the area.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) says the military has committed serious human right abuses in the Sinai Peninsula during the conflict in which thousands of people including civilians have been killed.