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| Egyptian Militants Linked to ISIS Launch Attack in Northern Sinai | Egyptian Militants Linked to ISIS Launch Attack in Northern Sinai |
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| CAIRO — Militants affiliated with the Islamic State besieged a town in Egypt’s northern Sinai Peninsula on Wednesday in a coordinated assault that turned the area into war zone, caught the Egyptian authorities by surprise and underscored their inability to contain a growing insurgency. | CAIRO — Militants affiliated with the Islamic State besieged a town in Egypt’s northern Sinai Peninsula on Wednesday in a coordinated assault that turned the area into war zone, caught the Egyptian authorities by surprise and underscored their inability to contain a growing insurgency. |
| Dozens of Egyptian soldiers were killed, police officers were trapped in their posts, ambulances were paralyzed by booby-trapped roads and residents were warned to stay indoors by jihadists roaming on motorcycles. The Egyptian Army responded with warplanes in the area around the town, Sheikh Zuwaid, 200 miles northeast of Cairo, near the Gaza Strip. | |
| The attack was the most audacious and deadliest yet for the Egyptian militants who have affiliated with the Islamic State, the extremist group that has emerged as the most potent jihadist force convulsing the Arab world. The group has established itself in Syria, expanded into Iraq and has strong footholds in Libya. | |
| Six hours after the assault began with simultaneous attacks on more than a dozen military checkpoints, the militants still were battling for control of Sheikh Zuwaid. Warplanes roared overhead. | Six hours after the assault began with simultaneous attacks on more than a dozen military checkpoints, the militants still were battling for control of Sheikh Zuwaid. Warplanes roared overhead. |
| “No one is safe here,” Mostafa Singer, a journalist in the city, said by telephone with the sounds of the fighting in the background. “The explosions are everywhere.” | “No one is safe here,” Mostafa Singer, a journalist in the city, said by telephone with the sounds of the fighting in the background. “The explosions are everywhere.” |
| The assault came 48 hours after militants assassinated Egypt’s top prosecutor, bombing his convoy on a residential street in Cairo. That attack, along with the Sinai assault, left the government of President Abdel-Fattah el Sisi suddenly struggling to battle an expanding insurgency, fought by multiple groups, on several fronts. | The assault came 48 hours after militants assassinated Egypt’s top prosecutor, bombing his convoy on a residential street in Cairo. That attack, along with the Sinai assault, left the government of President Abdel-Fattah el Sisi suddenly struggling to battle an expanding insurgency, fought by multiple groups, on several fronts. |
| The prosecutor, Hisham Barakat, was the most senior official killed since the insurgency erupted nearly two years ago, in the aftermath of the military ouster of President Mohamed Morsi. No one has yet claimed responsibility for the bombing on Monday, but analysts said it was possible that the attack was the work of one of a proliferation of new Islamist militant groups that have vowed to retaliate for the government’s crackdown on its opponents. | The prosecutor, Hisham Barakat, was the most senior official killed since the insurgency erupted nearly two years ago, in the aftermath of the military ouster of President Mohamed Morsi. No one has yet claimed responsibility for the bombing on Monday, but analysts said it was possible that the attack was the work of one of a proliferation of new Islamist militant groups that have vowed to retaliate for the government’s crackdown on its opponents. |
| Most worrying to Mr. Sisi, the violence this week appeared to signal the convergence of the two streams of violent resistance to his government: from the more recently formed militant groups, operating in the Nile Valley, as well as the jihadists with transnational ties to the Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria, intent on wresting control of territory from the Egyptian government. | Most worrying to Mr. Sisi, the violence this week appeared to signal the convergence of the two streams of violent resistance to his government: from the more recently formed militant groups, operating in the Nile Valley, as well as the jihadists with transnational ties to the Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria, intent on wresting control of territory from the Egyptian government. |
| In the last few weeks, militants have also attacked Egypt’s most popular tourist destinations, threatening a pillar of the country’s economy. | In the last few weeks, militants have also attacked Egypt’s most popular tourist destinations, threatening a pillar of the country’s economy. |
| But the sharpest challenge to the government’s authority has come from the militants based in northern Sinai, who even before Wednesday’s attack, had essentially gained control of several areas, setting up their own checkpoints and carrying out attacks on soldiers, seemingly at will. | But the sharpest challenge to the government’s authority has come from the militants based in northern Sinai, who even before Wednesday’s attack, had essentially gained control of several areas, setting up their own checkpoints and carrying out attacks on soldiers, seemingly at will. |
| The threat has persisted even as Mr. Sisi has sent his military in force to counter the threat in the Sinai — going as far as razing the town of Rafah, on the border with the Gaza Strip, to prevent the smuggling of militants and arms. | The threat has persisted even as Mr. Sisi has sent his military in force to counter the threat in the Sinai — going as far as razing the town of Rafah, on the border with the Gaza Strip, to prevent the smuggling of militants and arms. |
| Even with those measures, though, the assaults on Wednesday appeared to have dwarfed previous attacks. | |
| In a statement distributed via social media sites Wednesday morning, the Egyptian affiliate of the Islamic State, which calls itself Sinai Province, said it had attacked more than 15 security checkpoints and several police installations, using heavy weapons including mortars and rocket-propelled grenades. | |
| The Egyptian military sought to downplay its losses while posting photographs on its Facebook page that it said showed “terrorist elements” fleeing its warplanes. | |
| Mr. Singer and other witnesses speaking to local media said the militants were fighting from rooftops in Sheikh Zuwaid, laying explosives in the roads and besieging the local police station. Ambulances were stuck on the outskirts of town, unable to pick up the dead and wounded. | |
| “We do not know if the army will be able to solve this crisis,” Mr. Singer said. “Until now, it is on the side of the militants.” | “We do not know if the army will be able to solve this crisis,” Mr. Singer said. “Until now, it is on the side of the militants.” |