Egyptian troops hit by deadly jihadist attack in Sinai

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Funeral prayers were held on Sunday to mourn the deaths of an officer and soldiers killed in a deadly attack on the Egyptian army in north Sinai.

Saturday's attack on an army checkpoint in the restive Sinai Peninsula left 15 soldiers dead or wounded and seven of the suspected jihadist assailants were killed, the military said.

ISIL claimed responsibility for the attack and said it targeted a military post near the airport in El-Arish, northern Sinai.

Security forces responded to the attack with an "exchange of fire," killing seven militants, army spokesperson Tamer el-Refai said.

An Egyptian armored vehicle patrols on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border of the southern Gaza Strip, July 2, 2015. /VCG Photo‍

"An officer and 14 non-commissioned soldiers were killed or wounded," he said in a statement, without giving a breakdown of the casualties.

Since the army's overthrow of elected Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013, hundreds of soldiers and police have been killed in attacks by extremist groups.

Civilians have also been targeted in jihadist attacks, particularly members of Egypt's minority Coptic Christian community.

Egypt's army launched a major operation against the jihadists a year ago dubbed "Sinai 2018," after an attack in North Sinai killed more than 300 people at a mosque.

Source(s): AFP