At least seven people were killed in an attack by the Islamic State (ISIS) against a hotel in Egypt’s unstable Sinai Peninsula early Tuesday morning.
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The bombing took place after the second round of voting for Egypt’s parliamentary elections, which the judges staying at the hotel were responsible for monitoring by operating polling stations and observing the voting process.
A suicide bomber broke into the hotel restaurant and blew himself up and a gunman entered the guest rooms area and killed a judge, they said.
It said troops and policemen guarding the Swiss Inn hotel in El-Arish opened fire on the explosives-laden vehicle as it approached the building, blowing it up before it reached the hotel.
“Two judges, three police officers, five police recruits and two civilians were wounded and taken to hospital for treatment”, it added.
While the military and a witness assured the attack was executed by three IS militants, the Interior Ministry said there were only two, a confusion which was not immediately clarified.
The assault came a day after Egypt held the second round of parliamentary elections. We emphasise that [this incident] will strengthen the persistence and determination of police and the armed forces to root out terrorism in North Sinai”, a military spokesman said in a statement, according to Ahram.
The attack was quickly claimed by the Islamic State’s affiliate based in Sinai.
Tuesday’s terrorist attacks have drew regional and worldwide condemnation amid world concerns over growing terrorist groups, particularly the IS that also claimed responsibility for the recent attacks in Paris that killed at least 129.
Egypt has been battling militants in Sinai for years, but their insurgency has gained steam since the ouster in 2013 of the Islamist Mohammed Morsi, Egypt’s first freely elected president.
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Meanwhile, the security forces have been launching massive anti-terror operations in North Sinai that left hundreds of militants killed and a similar number of suspects arrested.
