This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-33340458
The article has changed 13 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Deadly attacks hit Egypt's Sinai peninsula | Deadly attacks hit Egypt's Sinai peninsula |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| At least 10 soldiers have been killed and injured in a wave of attacks by suspected jihadist militants in Egypt's Sinai peninsula, the military says. | At least 10 soldiers have been killed and injured in a wave of attacks by suspected jihadist militants in Egypt's Sinai peninsula, the military says. |
| More than 70 "terrorists" launched assaults on five different checkpoints near Sheikh Zuweid, a statement said. | More than 70 "terrorists" launched assaults on five different checkpoints near Sheikh Zuweid, a statement said. |
| Twenty-three attackers were killed and three pick-up trucks armed with anti-aircraft guns were destroyed, it added. | Twenty-three attackers were killed and three pick-up trucks armed with anti-aircraft guns were destroyed, it added. |
| Initial reports said as many as 30 soldiers were killed, but they could not be independently verified. | Initial reports said as many as 30 soldiers were killed, but they could not be independently verified. |
| Clashes were continuing in area between troops and the militants, military spokesman Brig-Gen Mohammed Samir said. | |
| The attacks come two days after the assassination of Egypt's public prosecutor Hisham Barakat. | |
| In a speech at Mr Barakat's funeral on Tuesday, President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi promised legal reforms to ensure death sentences could be enforced more swiftly for those convicted of acts of terrorism. | |
| At least 600 police officers and armed forces personnel have been killed in attacks claimed by jihadist militant groups based in the Sinai peninsula since the military overthrew Islamist President Mohammed Morsi two years ago. | |
| 'Troops captured' | |
| On Wednesday morning, dozens of militants fired mortar rounds and detonated a car bomb in near simultaneous attacks on checkpoints in the Sheikh Zuweid area of North Sinai province, Gen Mohammed Samir said. | |
| The number of casualties was put at 10, which conflicted with earlier reports. | |
| Security and army officials told the Associated Press that at least 30 troops had been killed, and that several had also been taken captive by the militants. | |
| Security sources told Reuters news agency that a police station was also targeted and that 20 members of the security forces were killed. | |
| North Sinai has been under a state of emergency and a curfew since October, when an attack on a checkpoint in El-Arish left dozens of soldiers dead. | |
| Police and army patrols have been increased and additional checkpoints have been set up. | |
| In addition, a buffer zone along the border with Gaza has been created by demolishing houses and destroying underground tunnels the military says have been used to smuggle weapons from the Palestinian enclave. | |
| Analysts said the car bomb attack in the capital Cairo that killed Mr Barakat bore the hallmarks of a group that pledged allegiance to Islamic State (IS) in November and changed its name from Ansar Beit al-Maqdis to "Sinai Province". | |
| Hours after President Sisi's speech on Tuesday, a soldier was shot dead outside a museum in southern Cairo and three suspected militants were killed when a car in which they were travelling blew up near a police station in a western suburb. |