Update: The Times of Israel now puts the number at “over 70” people dead.
A wave of attacks on the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt left at least 38 dead and dozens more injured this morning, writes Gawker. The attacks were at Egyptian army checkpoints.
The New York Times puts the number of dead at 64 Egyptian troops.
According to the AP, the terrorist group ISIS has already claimed responsibility for the attacks on Facebook.
Also over the weekend, the Egyptian state prosecutor Hisham Barakat was killed at point blank range with a roadside bomb tied to an ISIS group. The name of the ISIS group is the Sinai Province, writes Gawker.
Yesterday, President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi publicly promised to step up efforts against the group, apparently prompting a “swift response.”
The morning assault was reportedly launched by around 70 ISIS operatives, who used mortars, rocket-propelled grenades and car bombs in “near simultaneous assaults” on several army checkpoints.
According to the an Associated Press report:
“An Islamic State affiliate in Egypt claimed responsibility for Wednesday’s 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.
“Except for the attack at the officers’ club, the rest took place in the town of Sheikh Zuweid and targeted at least six military checkpoints, the officials said. The militants also took soldiers captive and seized weapons and several armored vehicles, they added, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.”
(Updated article)
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2015/07/01/world/middleeast/ap-ml-egypt.html?_r=0
OK, Fine. 