AMN /CAIRO
At least 26 troops were killed and 40 injured when a car bomb struck a military checkpoint followed by heavy gunfire in northeastern Sinai Peninsula today. The dead included a high ranking special forces officer.
The dead included a high ranking special forces officer, Colonel Ahmed el-Mansi, and at least 20 others were wounded in the attack.
Army spokesman Tamer el-Rifai confirmed the attack and said 26 army personnel were killed or injured in the attack, without providing a breakdown.
He also said the army foiled attacks targeting a number of other checkpoints in southern Rafah and that 40 militants were killed.
The officials said that the attack started when a suicide car bomber rammed his vehicle into the checkpoint in southern Rafah village of el-Barth, followed by heavy shooting by dozens of masked militants on foot.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.Egypt has in recent years been battling a stepped-up insurgency in northern Sinai, mainly by militants from an Islamic State group affiliate.
No group has claimed the attack but Egypt has been battling a stepped-up insurgency in northern Sinai, mainly by militants from an Islamic State affiliate.
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