At least seven Egyptians killed in Sinai terrorist ambushes

CAIRO-At least five Egyptian soldiers and two civilians have been killed in two terrorist groups’ ambushes in the volatile North Sinai region, a bastion of a growing Islamist insurgency, according to al-Ahram Online.

Nineteen other security personnel and ten civilians were wounded in the simultaneous attacks by gunmen using automatic weapons on two checkpoints in the town of Sheikh Zuweid and near the provincial capital of Al-Arish early on Thursday, security sources said.

The injured were ferried to a military hospital in Al-Arish.

Fifteen gunmen were also killed in a firefight with security forces during the assaults, the sources added.

Apache helicopters roared above the northern area in search of perpetrators of the attacks which carry the hallmark of Islamist militants allied with the ultra-hardline “Islamic State” group.

Egypt’s army is fighting an Islamist insurrection based in the northern part of Sinai Peninsula, which has heightened since the ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in July 2013. The violence has mainly targeted security forces, killing hundreds in the past 19 months.

Late in January, simultaneous attacks by terrorists targeted security forces with rockets and car bombs in Al-Arish, killing at least 30, including civilians.

Ahram Online

H.M