Seven killed, 15 injured in Sinai blasts

Cairo: At least five Egyptian soldiers, a military officer and a civilian woman were killed, and 15 injured in the Sinai Peninsula on Thursday, after armoured personnel carriers exploded in two separate incidents, security and medical sources said.

Daesh claimed responsibility for the attacks on several websites.

Several explosive devices were planted on the road in Rafah and southern Sheikh Zuwayed and were remotely detonated as soon as the vehicles passed by, the sources said.

Egypt’s military spokesman could not immediately be reached for comment.

Egypt is battling an insurgency that gained pace after its military overthrew President Mohammad Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood in mid-2013 following mass protests against his rule.

The insurgency, mounted by Daesh’s Egyptian branch, in Sinai Province has killed hundreds of soldiers and police and started to attack Western targets within the country.

President Abdul Fattah Al Sissi, the former military chief who led Mursi’s ouster, describes Islamist militancy as an existential threat to Egypt, an ally of the United States.

Daesh controls large parts of Iraq and Syria and has a presence in Libya, which borders Egypt.