64 troops killed in militant attacks in Egypt’s Sinai

More than 60 Egyptian soldiers were killed Wednesday morning in a wave of militant attacks – which included at least one suicide bombing – in the northern Sinai Peninsula.

Militants armed with rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) attacked at least 10 security checkpoints and a police station in Egypt’s North Sinai province, a security source told Al-Shorouk newspaper.

“At least 64 army and police personnel were killed in the terrorist attacks,” the source was quoted as saying.

A group affiliated with ISIS has since claimed responsibility for the attacks.

Speaking via Twitter, the Welayet Sinai (“Province of Sinai”) group said its militants had attacked more than 15 security checkpoints in North Sinai.

The group claimed that it has seized control of several sites and laid a siege around a police station in North Sinai’s Sheikh Zuweid city.

According to eyewitnesses, militants with Daesh flags were roaming the city on their vehicles and motorbikes following the attacks.

Active in the northern Sinai Peninsula, Welayet Sinai, formerly known as “Ansar Beit al-Maqdis,” acquired its name after swearing allegiance to Daesh, which last year overran vast swathes of territory in both Iraq and Syria.

The group has since claimed responsibility for several attacks against Egyptian police and army personnel in the restive peninsula.

For the last two years, Egyptian security forces have waged a fierce campaign against militants in northern Sinai, which shares borders with both Israel and the blockaded Gaza Strip.

The military campaign has been accompanied by a spike in attacks on security personnel that began in mid-2013, after Mohamed Morsi – Egypt’s first democratically elected president – was ousted in a military coup following protests against his single year in office.