Islamic militants attack military checkpoints in North Sinai, Egypt
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Islamic militants attack military checkpoints in North Sinai, Egypt
Smoke rises in Egypt's North Sinai along the border with southern Israel
Smoke rises in Egypt's North Sinai along the border with southern Israel, July 1, 2015. Islamic State militants launched a wide-scale coordinated assault on several military checkpoints in Egypt's North Sinai on Wednesday in which 50 people were killed, security sources said, the largest attack yet in the insurgency-hit province. Egyptian army F-16 jets and Apache helicopters strafed the region that lies within the Sinai Peninsula, a strategic area located between Israel, the Gaza Strip and the Suez Canal. (REUTERS/Amir Cohen)
A member of Egypt's security forces stands on watchtower in North Sinai
A member of Egypt's security forces stands on a watchtower in North Sinai as seen from across the border in southern Israel July 1, 2015. Islamic State militants launched a wide-scale coordinated assault on several military checkpoints in North Sinai on Wednesday in which 50 people were killed, security sources said, the largest attack yet in the insurgency-hit province. Egyptian army F-16 jets and Apache helicopters strafed the region that lies within the Sinai Peninsula, a strategic area located between Israel, the Gaza Strip and the Suez Canal. (REUTERS/Amir Cohen)
An Israeli army tank takes position along Israel's border with Egypt
An Israeli army tank takes position along Israel's border with Egypt's North Sinai (seen in background) July 1, 2015. Islamic State militants launched a wide-scale coordinated assault on several military checkpoints in Egypt's North Sinai on Wednesday in which 50 people were killed, security sources said, the largest attack yet in the insurgency-hit province. Egyptian army F-16 jets and Apache helicopters strafed the region that lies within the Sinai Peninsula, a strategic area located between Israel, the Gaza Strip and the Suez Canal. (REUTERS/Amir Cohen)
Egyptian soldiers regularly come under attack in the Sinai Peninsuala, where jihadists linked to the Islamic State group are waging a bloody insurgency
Egyptian soldiers regularly come under attack in the Sinai Peninsuala, where jihadists linked to the Islamic State group are waging a bloody insurgency (AFP Photo)
Islamic militants on Wednesday unleashed a wave of simultaneous attacks, including suicide car bombings, on Egyptian army checkpoints in the restive northern Sinai Peninsula, killing at least 50 soldiers, security and military officials said.
The coordinated morning assaults in Sinai 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 attacks set off fierce fighting between the army and the militants that continued into Wednesday afternoon — the fiercest clashes in decades in the peninsula.
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.
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. (AP)
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