Islamic State claims responsibility for Egypt's Sinai attack

The attack occurred on Thursday south of Bir al-Abd city in the Northern Sinai region.

EGYPTIAN MILITARY forces look on in the northern Sinai. (photo credit: MOHAMED ABD EL GHANY/REUTERS)
EGYPTIAN MILITARY forces look on in the northern Sinai.
(photo credit: MOHAMED ABD EL GHANY/REUTERS)
Islamic State on Friday claimed responsibility for an attack on an Egyptian military vehicle in North Sinai province that killed and wounded several military personnel, the group's Amaq news agency reported.
The attack occurred on Thursday south of Bir al-Abd city in the Northern Sinai region. Egypt's military said that 10 military personnel were killed or wounded in a blast targeting an armored vehicle.
Amaq said Islamic State militants targeted an Egyptian army armored vehicle yesterday in Bir al-Abd by detonating an explosive device, without giving any evidence or details on how many were involved.
Egypt has been fighting Islamist insurgents who have killed hundreds of police and soldiers in the northern part of the Sinai Peninsula since the ousting of Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood in 2013 following mass protests against his rule.
 
Egyptian president Abdel Fateh al-Sisi has waged extensive military operations against Islamic State terrorists in Sinai, who despite their small size in the peninsula, is considered to be one of the most effective ISIS affiliates outside Syria and Iraq, and have carried out numerous deadly attacks on Egyptian security forces.
Israel has a 240-kilometre border with the  Sinai Peninsula, and Cairo and Jerusalem have cooperated closely in the fight against terrorists since Sisi rose to power in 2014.