A car bomb attack on Thursday killed eight Egyption soldiers in Sinai -- a region that has been ripped apart by wave of attacks launched by a local affiliate linked to Islamic State.

The bomb was intended to blow up at a checkpoint in north Sinai, Egyption army said, though they did not give the exact location of the blast.

&quot;A car bomb attack, the clashes that ensued and a blast targeting one of the vehicles left eight members of the armed forced dead,&quot; an army spokesman said, adding that three jihadists were gunned down in the shootout.

No group has come out and taken repsonsibility for the attack yet.

In recent months, hudreds of policemen and soldiers have been killed in attacks perpetrated by an Islamist organisation&nbsp;affiliated to IS, an Middle East-based militant organisation.&nbsp;

The jihadist group also said it was responsible for the downing of a Russian plane over Sinai in October 2015 which killed all 224 people on board, most of them Russian holidaymakers.

(WION with inputs from AFP)

The attackers remain unknown but Sinai, where the attack took place, has been torn asunder by a string of blasts targeting Egyptian forces

A car bomb attack on Thursday killed eight Egyption soldiers in Sinai -- a region that has been ripped apart by wave of attacks launched by a local affiliate linked to Islamic State. The bomb was intended to blow up at a checkpoint in north Sinai, Egyption army said, though they did not give the exact location of the blast. "A car bomb attack, the clashes that ensued and a blast targeting one of the vehicles left eight members of the armed forced dead," an army spokesman said, adding that three jihadists were gunned down in the shootout. No group has come out and taken repsonsibility for the attack yet. In recent months, hudreds of policemen and soldiers have been killed in attacks perpetrated by an Islamist organisation affiliated to IS, an Middle East-based militant organisation. The jihadist group also said it was responsible for the downing of a Russian plane over Sinai in October 2015 which killed all 224 people on board, most of them Russian holidaymakers. (WION with inputs from AFP)

Egypt: 8 soldiers killed in blast near checkpoint

Egypt&#39;s military said on Thursday it had killed Abu Duaa al-Ansari, whom it identified as the leader of the Sinai branch of Islamic State.

It said on its Facebook page that a series of air strikes near Arish, the largest town on the Sinai peninsula, had also killed 45 other Islamic State fighters.

There was no immediate confirmation from Sinai Province, Islamic State&#39;s offshoot in the peninsula that borders Israel, the Gaza Strip and the Suez Canal.

&quot;This successful operation confirms the pledges of the armed forces to avenge their martyrs and&nbsp;pursue all the terrorist elements and leaders wherever they are found until Egypt and its great people enjoy security and stability,&quot; the military said.

Hundreds of soldiers and policemen have been killed by an insurgency since mid-2013, when then-army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi ousted Islamist President Mohamed Mursi following mass protests.

Most of the violence has taken place in northern Sinai, where Islamic State loyalists are based.

The military has conducted several campaigns to crush insurgents and cut off their arms supplies, demolishing border villages and tunnels it said were used to smuggle arms and fighters from the Gaza Strip.

Locals say the tunnels were used to smuggle consumer goods to Gaza to ease the consequences of the Israeli blockade.

In 2014, an Egyptian militant group called Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis pledged allegiance to Islamic State and changed its name to Sinai Province.

The army, which still refers to the group by its former name, did not say when the air strikes took place. 
 
(Reuters)

The military also said in its Facebook page that it killed 45 other Islamic State fighters in a series of air strikes

Egypt's military said on Thursday it had killed Abu Duaa al-Ansari, whom it identified as the leader of the Sinai branch of Islamic State. It said on its Facebook page that a series of air strikes near Arish, the largest town on the Sinai peninsula, had also killed 45 other Islamic State fighters. There was no immediate confirmation from Sinai Province, Islamic State's offshoot in the peninsula that borders Israel, the Gaza Strip and the Suez Canal. "This successful operation confirms the pledges of the armed forces to avenge their martyrs and pursue all the terrorist elements and leaders wherever they are found until Egypt and its great people enjoy security and stability," the military said. Hundreds of soldiers and policemen have been killed by an insurgency since mid-2013, when then-army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi ousted Islamist President Mohamed Mursi following mass protests. Most of the violence has taken place in northern Sinai, where Islamic State loyalists are based. The military has conducted several campaigns to crush insurgents and cut off their arms supplies, demolishing border villages and tunnels it said were used to smuggle arms and fighters from the Gaza Strip. Locals say the tunnels were used to smuggle consumer goods to Gaza to ease the consequences of the Israeli blockade. In 2014, an Egyptian militant group called Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis pledged allegiance to Islamic State and changed its name to Sinai Province. The army, which still refers to the group by its former name, did not say when the air strikes took place. (Reuters)

Egypt military says it killed leader of Islamic State in Sinai

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Egypt: 8 soldiers killed in blast near checkpoint

Egypt military says it killed leader of Islamic State in Sinai