Alwaght-At least 26 Egyptian troops including a colonel were killed in a terrorist attack claimed by ISIS terrorists at an army checkpoint in the country’s Sinai region.
The attack started when a suicide car bomber rammed his vehicle into the checkpoint at a military compound in the southern Rafah village of el-Barth, followed by heavy gunfire from dozens of masked fighters on foot, officials said.
The Egyptian military said on Friday that 26 army personnel were killed or injured by car bombs that targeted the security checkpoint, and that the army had killed 40 militants in the attacks.
"Security forces in North Sinai have successfully foiled a terrorist assault on some checkpoints south of Rafah, killing 40 militants," the army said in a statement.
The army did not provide a breakdown of the casualties.
Wilayat Sinai, a group affiliated with the ISIS terrorist group frequently targets military and police personnel.
Over the past months, the ISIS affiliate has focused its attacks on Egypt's Christian minority and carried out at least four deadly attacks that killed dozens, prompting military-backed President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi to declare a state of emergency in the country.
The coordinated attack suggested the Sinai-based terrorists are among the region's most resilient, after ISIS in Iraq and Syria, where the so-called caliphate has crumbled.
