Gunmen kill seven Egyptian soldiers in Sinai

[BLACKEAGLE]

An Egyptian soldier stands on armored vehicle in el-Arish, 290 kilometers (180 miles) east of Cairo, North Sinai. (File photo: Associated Press)

Reuters, Ismailia
Thursday, 2 April 2015

Gunmen armed with rocket-propelled grenades attacked several military checkpoints in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula on Thursday, killing seven soldiers, security sources said, defying one of the toughest security crackdowns in the country’s history.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack but militants who support ISIS, the ultra-hardline group that controls parts of Iraq and Syria, have carried out similar operations in Sinai.

Egypt is gradually recovering from years of political turmoil following the ouster of autocrat Hosni Mubarak in 2011 and foreign investors are starting to return. But the biggest Arab state still faces security challenges on several fronts.

Sinai-based militants have killed hundreds of soldiers and police since the army toppled Islamist President Mohammed Mursi in 2013 after mass protests against his rule.

That insurgency has spread to other parts of Egypt though bombing attacks in cities and towns are usually far less dramatic.

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who has spearheaded an Arab initiative to create a joint military force to confront regional security challenges, says militants based next door in chaos-ridden Libya also pose a threat to Egypt.

Last Update: Thursday, 2 April 2015 KSA 10:33 - GMT 07:33
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/04/02/Gunmen-kill-seven-Egyptian-soldiers-in-Sinai-.html

 

[vegito12]

I think it is sad that, the soldiers died and their families will be sad that they lost and also it is going to affect them for the rest of their lives as well. I reckon that, it is going to continue in the battles that follow and also it is also going to be hard as well as both sides will fight to the end as well. The army will need to be more alert and also,it will be making more security tight as it will need to after what happened.

 

[xTinx]

I'm not ruling out the possibility that those gunmen are members of or have some ties with ISIS. It doesn't sound too farfetched since ISIS terrorists have practically sent a great chunk of the Middle East into utter chaos. Egypt's military is preoccupied with all kinds of defense issues so I hope the troops won't be demoralized by this incident.