Date: Fri, 24 Oct 2014 21:38:17 +0200
North Sinai car bomb kills 28 soldiers, 3 die in second attack
Three security personnel killed at checkpoint in Al-Arish just hours after
28 soldiers die in a car bomb attack in Sheikh Zuweid
Ahram Online , Friday 24 Oct 2014
At least 31 members of the security forces were killed in two separate
attacks in North Sinai on Friday.
Twenty-eight soldiers were killed - according to the lastest figures
reported by local satellite channel CBC - and another 30 injured when a car
bomb exploded at the Karm Alkwadis security checkpoint in Sheikh Zuweid.
Just hours later three security personal died when militants opened fire at
a checkpoint in nearby Al-Arish.
The death toll in Sheikh Zuweid was the largest number of soldiers to die in
a single attack in region.
The injured were transferred to the military and general hospitals in
Al-Arish, the biggest city in North Sinai.
Medical teams were sent to Al-Arish military hospital, said Health Minister
Adel El-Adawi.
Al-Arish general hospital called on local residents to donate blood.
President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi has announced three days of national mourning
for the dead soldiers.
El-Sisi will hold a meeting with the National Defence Council on Friday
evening to discuss the latest developments in Sinai, a presidential
spokesperson said.
The council is made up of cabinet ministers, the head of the parliament,
commanders of the armed forces, and is chaired by the president.
State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki said the United States condemns the
attack and "continues to support the Egyptian government's efforts to
counter the threat of terrorism in Egypt as part of our commitment to the
strategic partnership between our two countries."
Over 40 security personnel have been killed in attacks in the Sinai
Peninsula this week, including the two attacks on Friday.
A militant insurgency by jihadist groups in the peninsula has become more
active since the ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013.
Hundreds of police and soldiers, as well as militants, have been killed.
Sinai
File photo: Egyptian soldiers keep guard on the border between Egypt and
southern Gaza Strip (Photo: Reuters)
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