Four soldiers hurt in militant attack in Egypt’s Sinai

By Khaled al-Jioushi

CAIRO

Four Egyptian soldiers were injured in a Tuesday attack by unidentified gunmen on an army checkpoint in the Sinai Peninsula’s northeastern Al-Masoorah area, according to a local security source.

The source, who spoke to Anadolu Agency anonymously due to restrictions on speaking to media, said the four wounded soldiers had been rushed to a government hospital in the nearby city of Al-Arish where they were in "serious condition".

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.

Since mid-2013, when Mohamed Morsi -- Egypt’s first democratically-elected president -- was ousted in a military coup, hundreds of Egyptian security personnel have been killed in Sinai amid an ongoing, low-intensity militant insurgency.

The Egyptian security forces, meanwhile, continue to wage a fierce campaign -- involving elements from both the police and army -- against what they describe as Sinai-based "terrorist groups".

Egypt’s army-backed authorities say they are battling the Welayat Sinai ("Sinai Province") group, which is said to have sworn allegiance to the Daesh terrorist organization.