Five Egyptian soldiers were killed in an attack in northern Sinai on Wednesday, the second deadly strike against security forces on the peninsula in less than a week, Reuters reported.
Four other soldiers were injured in the attack, which occurred when armed men opened fire at a security post on the coast of northeastern Sinai, a few kilometers away from the border with the Gaza Strip, two security sources said.
Wednesday’s attack followed a May 7 ambush at a checkpoint in Sinai that killed 11 Egyptian soldiers and was claimed by the Islamic State (ISIS) terrorist organization, in one of the deadliest attacks in recent years.
The military said in a statement quoted by Reuters that it had carried out air strikes on May 7 and again on Wednesday, killing a total of 16 militants and destroying several of their outposts and vehicles.
Egypt has been fighting an insurgency in the Sinai Peninsula for several years, which at times has spilled over into other parts of the country. Most of the attacks during this time period have been claimed by Sinai Province.
In February of 2018, Egypt launched operation “Sinai 2018” in an effort to rid the Sinai Peninsula of Islamic terrorists.
Earlier this week, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi voiced hopes for deeper counter-terrorism ties with Washington in a meeting with the general who oversees US forces in the Middle East.