Egypt’s military says a roadside bombing in northern Sinai has killed four troops.
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Meanwhile, a security official in Sinai, whose name was not mentioned in reports, said Thursday’s explosion occurred outside a checkpoint in the village of el-Mahdiya village, south of Rafah.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for Thursday’s blast, but Islamic State’s Egyptian affiliate, Sinai Province, has launched similar attacks in the past. Recently, the attacks have expanded to reach the capital of Cairo, with a vehicle bombing killing the country’s chief prosecutor in late June and another striking outside the Italian Consulate earlier this month. The deaths came as Egypt marks the 1952 revolution, also known as the July 23 revolution.
The picture shows smoke billowing in North Sinai, July 2, 2015.
Militants loyal to the Islamic State group have killed hundreds of policemen and soldiers since the army overthrew Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013.
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The army says that it has killed more than 1,000 militants in Siani over the past two years. Clashes with militants then ensued, killing a fifth soldier, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to reporters.
