IS bomb claims seven lives in Egypt's Sinai peninsula

Islamic State has claimed responsibility for roadside bombs that killed seven people and wounded 15 others in the Sinai peninsula.

File image of Egyptian police

File image of Egyptian police Source: Getty Images

At least five Egyptian soldiers, a military officer and a civilian woman have been killed, and 15 wounded, in the Sinai peninsula, after armoured personnel carriers exploded in two separate incidents.

Islamic State have claimed responsibility for the attacks on several websites.

Several explosive devices were planted on the road in Rafah and southern Sheikh Zuwayed and were remotely detonated as soon as the vehicles passed by, the sources said.

Egypt's military spokesman could not immediately be reached for comment.
Egypt is battling an insurgency that gained pace after its military overthrew President Mohamed Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's oldest Islamist movement, in mid-2013 following mass protests against his rule.

The insurgency, mounted by Islamic State's Egyptian branch, Sinai Province, has killed hundreds of soldiers and police and started to attack Western targets within the country.

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the former military chief who led Mursi's ouster, describes Islamist militancy as an existential threat to Egypt, an ally of the United States.

Islamic State controls large parts of Iraq and Syria and has a presence in Libya, which borders Egypt.


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Source: AAP


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IS bomb claims seven lives in Egypt's Sinai peninsula | SBS News