Attack on Sinai checkpoint kills 11 Egyptian troops, says army

Egypt’s military said Saturday at least 11 troops, including an officer, have been killed in a militant attack in the restive northern part of the Sinai Peninsula.

The military said in a statement that the militants attacked a water pumping station Saturday east of the Suez Canal. It did not give further details on the location.

The statement said security forces clashes with the attacking militants. It says at least five other troops were wounded in the attack. Troops were pursuing the the militants in an isolated area in Sinai, it added.

No group claimed responsibility for Saturday’s ambush, one of the deadliest attacks against Egyptian security forces in recent years.

Saudi Arabia condemned and denounced the attack.

The Kingdom affirmed its support for Egypt in the face of all threats to its security and stability, the foreign ministry announced on Saturday.

The ministry added it appreciated the role of the Egyptian armed forces in confronting attacks by terrorist organizations.

Last week, suspected militants blew up a natural gas pipeline in Northern Sinai’s town of Bir El-Abd, causing a fire but no casualties.

Egypt has been battling a Daesh-led insurgency in the Sinai since 2013. The militants have carried out scores of attacks, mainly targeting security forces and Christians.

The pace of militant attacks in Sinai’s main theater of operations and elsewhere has slowed to a trickle since February 2018, when the military launched a massive operation in Sinai as well as parts of the Nile Delta and deserts along the country’s western border with Libya.

The fight against militants in Sinai has largely taken place hidden from the public eye, with journalists, non-residents and outside observers barred from the area. The conflict has also been kept at a distance from tourist resorts at the southern end of the peninsula.