Death toll rises to 30 in series of attacks in Egypt’s Sinai

Cairo.- Egyptian authorities have not provided official figures on the death toll, but an official from the Sinai regional government, speaking on condition of anonymity, put the death toll at 45, including military, police and civilians.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who is attending the African Union summit in Ethiopia, decided to cut short the regional meeting in order to closely follow developments in his country.

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

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

A security source quoted by the EFE news agency reported that at 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 RPG-type grenade launchers.

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

The deadliest attack was against the headquarters of the 101st Brigade of the Army, located in the Al Salam neighborhood of Al Arish, capital of the North Sinai province.

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

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

Sinai has been a hotbed of instability for years, but since the overthrow of President Mohamed Mursi in July 2013, attacks against law enforcement have increased.

On October 24, at least 31 soldiers were killed in an armed attack near the border with Gaza, the worst attack against the army in that area in recent years.

Following the attack, al-Sisi declared a state of emergency in part of the peninsula and authorities began demolishing homes in the town of Rafah near the border with Gaza to prevent weapons and fighters from entering through underground tunnels, they said at the time.