Saturday, July 20, 2013

Two People Killed in Sinai Peninsula

Militants kill 2 in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula

Fri Jul 19, 2013 10:5PM GMT
presstv.ir

Two civilians have been killed and one injured in a militant attack on an army checkpoint in the north of Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, according to security and medical officials.

Militants used rocket-propelled grenades and heavy machineguns to attack the checkpoint in al-Arish, one of several attacks on Friday in North Sinai's main city.

"While attacking security checkpoints, in Granada, al-Dahiya and al-Reesa districts in al-Arish, several militants fired rockets and heavy artillery, which mistakenly hit nearby houses and killed the civilians," the security officials said.

One of those killed had his legs and head blown off in the attack, a medical official said.

Militants also attacked two police stations using heavy machineguns and fired rockets at an army camp. No casualties were reported in those attacks.

Earlier this week, the Egyptian army launched a major offensive against militants in North Sinai.

The official MENA news agency reported on Thursday that 10 terrorists had been killed in an army operation in Sinai in the past two days.

Since the ouster of Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi on July 3, militant groups have launched almost daily attacks there, killing several members of security forces.

In August 2012, sixteen Egyptian soldiers were killed in an attack on a police station near the border with the Gaza Strip. It was the deadliest incident in Sinai in decades.

In response, Cairo launched an offensive against terrorists in Sinai, sending thousands of troops backed by tanks and heavy equipment into the region.

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