Death toll rises to 30 in a series of attacks in the Egyptian Sinai

Cairo.- Egyptian authorities did not provide official data on the death toll although an official from the Sinai regional government, who spoke on condition of anonymity, raised the number of fatalities to 45, including military, police and civilians.

The Egyptian president, Abdel Fatah al Sisi, who is participating in the African Union summit in Ethiopia, decided to interrupt the regional meeting to be able to closely follow the events in his country.

According to state television, Al Sisi will leave the summit following the opening session.

Last night, gunmen carried out several simultaneous attacks once morest Egyptian security forces in the towns of Al Arish, Sheikh Sued and Rafah in the Sinai Peninsula.

A security source cited by the EFE news agency reported that around 7:30 p.m. local time (2:30 p.m. in Argentina) there were three simultaneous attacks in the three towns, which were followed by clashes in which armed assailants used light weapons, mortars and grenade launchers. RPG type.

The clashes lasted an hour and a half and according to the source, there were no deaths or arrests among the ranks of the terrorists.

The deadliest attack occurred once morest the headquarters of the Army’s 101st Brigade, located in the Al Salam neighborhood of Al Arish, capital of the North Sinai province.

In his first reaction following what happened, Al Sisi ordered the security forces last night to pursue the attackers and destroy their hideouts.

Wilayat Sina, formerly known as Ansar Beit al Maqdis, and which has sworn allegiance to the jihadists of the Islamic State extremist group, claimed responsibility for the attacks on its Twitter account this morning.

The Sinai has been a focus of instability for years, but since the overthrow of President Mohamed Mursi in July 2013, attacks once morest law enforcement forces have multiplied.

On October 24, at least 31 soldiers lost their lives in an armed attack near the border with Gaza, in the worst action once morest the Army in that area in recent years.

After this attack, Al Sisi declared a state of emergency in part of the peninsula and the authorities began the demolition of the homes in the town of Rafah located near the border with Gaza, to prevent the arrival of weapons and fighters through underground tunnels, as indicated then.