Heavily-armed ISIS militants in Egypt on Wednesday launched a wave of simultaneous suicide attacks on Army checkpoints in the restive Sinai Peninsula, killing at least 70 people, mostly soldiers, in the biggest assault and triggering a massive retaliatory strike by the military using troops and F-16s.
The coordinated assaults in the morning set off fierce fighting between the Army and the militants that is currently ongoing, with soldiers and police chasing the attackers using ground and air force, security sources said.
The attacks came just two days after Egypt’s general prosecutor Hisham Barakat was killed in a car bomb attack here and a day after President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi vowed to step up a two-year crackdown on militants.
Wednesday’s attack, which occurred in Sheikh Zuweid city of North Sinai, included suicide car bombings and heavy weapons that damaged large parts of the checkpoints, security sources said.