Daesh bombings leave 23 Egyptian soldiers dead in Sinai
Over two dozen Egyptian soldiers have been killed when two bombings targeted security checkpoints in militancy-riddled Sinai Peninsula, which has long been a stronghold of Daesh affiliates in the North .
According to Egyptian security officials, two bombers detonated their explosive-laden cars at two checkpoints near an army compound south of Rafah City in northern Sinai on Friday.
At least 23 soldiers were killed and 26 more wounded in the assaults, which were claimed by the Takfiri Daesh terror group.
The Egyptian army, however, gave a lower toll and said a total of 26 troops were killed or wounded, without giving a breakdown of the figure.
The attacks are one of the deadliest to hit the restive region in years.
Daesh later said in a statement the military compound came under attack as the Egyptian army was preparing to launch a counterterrorism offensive against the terror group’s affiliates from there.
The Egyptian army said its forces killed at least 40 militants and destroyed six of their vehicles in an operation following the attacks.
Militant attacks have killed hundreds of soldiers and police in the vast desert district since 2013.Most recently, a security source said Daesh had staged a bomb attack in Sinai, killing three policemen.
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Daesh’s Egypt offshoot, known as Velayat Sinai, has also taken on Egypt’s Coptic Christian community. About 100 Copts have been killed in its attacks in mainland Egypt since December.
The Egyptian parliament on Tuesday approved President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi’s decision to extend by three months a state of emergency across the country amid counterterrorism operations in Sinai.
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