Five Egyptian soldiers killed in Sinai bombing – security officials

CAIRO, Egypt – Five Egyptian soldiers were killed and three others wounded in a bomb attack on their armored vehicle in the Sinai region on Sunday, April 12, 2015, security officials said.

Security officials said the roadside bomb was planted in an area of the northern Sinai peninsula that is a stronghold of Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, which has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group.

An officer and four soldiers were killed in the bomb attack, which took place in an area close to the town of Sheikh Zuweid, said security officials.

In November, Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, the deadliest militant group in Egypt, pledged allegiance to IS, which has captured large chunks of territory in Syria and Iraq.

The group, which is based in the Sinai Peninsula, has claimed a string of deadly attacks on Egyptian security forces in recent months.

The army has sent troops and armour to fight a dogged insurgency on the peninsula that has grown since then army chief and now President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi ousted his Islamist predecessor, Mohamed Morsi, in July 2013.

Ansar Beit al-Maqdis say their attacks targeting security forces are in retaliation for a government crackdown against Morsi’s supporters that has left hundreds dead. – Rappler.com