The Islamic State (IS) group claimed responsibility on the night of Friday to Saturday for an attack on the Egyptian army. The attack in Sinai on Thursday was claimed in a statement released by the jihadist propaganda agency Amaq. Two suspected jihadists were killed by the Egyptian military in the aftermath of the bombing in this insurgent peninsula.
Armed Forces spokesman Tamer al-Rifai said in a statement on Friday that two "very dangerous" jihadists had died in an "exchange of fire" with the armed forces at a farm in North Sinai Province . Weapons, ammunition and walkie-talkies were found on the scene, the brief statement said.
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Tamer al-Rifai reported on Thursday an attack on an army armored vehicle in Bir al-Abd, a city in the same province. He said ten soldiers, including one officer, were "killed or injured" . He did not give further details on the balance sheet on Friday.
Security forces have been working for years to contain the Sinai insurgency, which includes a local group affiliated with the Islamic State (IS) organization. The insurgency escalated after the army’s ouster of Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in 2013 following major protests.
The army launched in February 2018 a vast "anti-terrorist" operation in the region but also in parts of the western desert, between the Nile Valley and the border with Libya. Since its launch, more than 800 suspected jihadists and nearly 70 soldiers have been killed in clashes, according to official figures. However, no verified independent source report is available and the region is largely forbidden to journalists.
