Scores killed as militants attack Egyptian troops

Associated Press

EL-ARISH, Egypt

Islamic State-linked militants struck Egyptian army outposts in the Sinai Peninsula on Wednesday in a coordinated wave of suicide bombings and battles that underlined the government’s failure to stem an insurgency despite a two-year crackdown. Security officials said dozens of troops were killed, along with nearly 100 attackers.

The restive territory’s deadliest fighting in decades followed the assassination of Egypt’s chief prosecutor and a vow by President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi to step up the legal battle against Islamic militants.

Later Wednesday, a special forces team raided a Cairo apartment and killed nine fugitive members of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, including a former member of parliament, security officials said.

The Brotherhood responded by calling for a rebellion against el-Sissi, saying the nine were “murdered in cold blood.”

Authorities and pro-government media have blamed Egypt’s recent violence on the Brotherhood, which has been branded a terrorist group, as well as other supporters of ousted President Mohammed Morsi. The Brotherhood denies involvement.

The new bloodshed also came as Egypt was marking the second anniversary of the events that led to the July 3, 2013, military-led overthrow of Morsi, although the celebrations were muted by Monday’s killing of Prosecutor General Hisham Barakat and fears of unrest by the former president’s supporters.

Militants in northern Sinai, which borders Israel and the Gaza Strip, stepped up their attacks after Morsi’s fall. Last year, the main insurgent organization operating in Sinai pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group, calling itself Sinai Province.