50 soldiers killed in ISIS attack on Egyptian Army's Sinai checkpoints

50 soldiers killed in ISIS attack on Egyptian Army's Sinai checkpoints

FoxNews.com

Published July 1, 2015

Islamic militants on Wednesday unleashed a wave of simultaneous attacks on Egyptian Army checkpoints in the restive northern Sinai Peninsula, killing at least 50 soldiers, country officials said.

The coordinated assaults, which included up to 70 militants, came a day after Egypt's president pledged to step up the battle against Islamic militants and two days after the country's state prosecutor was assassinated in the capital, Cairo. The BBC reported that the clashes are ongoing, with militants reportedly overtaking a main police station. 

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The officials said scores of militants were besieging Sheikh Zuweid's main police station, shelling it with mortars and rocket-propelled grenades and exchanging fire with dozens of policemen inside. Reuters reported that militants planted bombs along a road between the police station and an army camp to deter reenforcements.

"We are under siege, the militants didn't storm inside it so far, or else I wouldn't be speaking to you right now," Col. Mohamed Soliman told Daily News Egypt from inside the police station

Al Jazeera, citing a local news, reported that ambulances had trouble reaching those injured due to the crossfire.

The scope and intensity of the attacks underscored the resilience and advanced planning by the militants, who have for years battled Egyptian security forces in northern Sinai but intensified their insurgency over the past two years just as the government threw more resources into the drawn-out fight. Israel closed two border crossings after the attack and announced its defense forces were monitoring the events.

"This incident is a game-changer," an Israeli official told Reuters on condition of anonymity. "We are attentive to Egypt's needs, as always."

An ISIS affiliate in Egypt claimed responsibility for the attacks, saying its fighters targeted a total of 15 army and police positions and staged three suicide bombings, two of which targeted checkpoints and one that hit an officers' club in the nearby city of el-Arish.

The authenticity of the claim could not be immediately verified, but it was posted on a Facebook page associated with the group.