IS claims attack in Egypt’s Sinai that killed 23 soldiers

FILE - This file photo posted on a file sharing website Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2017, by the Islamic State Group in Sinai, a militant organization, shows a deadly attack by militants on an Egyptian police checkpoint in el-Arish, north Sinai, Egypt. Egyptian officials say at least 10 security troops have been killed when a car bomb struck a military checkpoint followed by heavy gunfire in northeastern Sinai Peninsula. The officials say the Friday, July 7, 2017 attack started when a suicide car bomber rammed his vehicle into the checkpoint in southern Rafah village of el-Barth, followed by heavy shooting by dozens of masked militants on foot. Arabic reads, "Walking around the building at the fire station after searching and taking control." (Islamic State Group in Sinai, via AP, File) FILE - This file photo posted on a file sharing website Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2017, by the Islamic State Group in Sinai, a militant organization, shows a deadly attack by militants on an Egyptian police checkpoint in el-Arish, north Sinai, Egypt. Egyptian officials say at least 10 security troops have been killed when a car bomb struck a military checkpoint followed by heavy gunfire in northeastern Sinai Peninsula. The officials say the Friday, July 7, 2017 attack started when a suicide car bomber rammed his vehicle into the checkpoint in southern Rafah village of el-Barth, followed by heavy shooting by dozens of masked militants on foot. Arabic reads, "Walking around the building at the fire station after searching and taking control." (Islamic State Group in Sinai, via AP, File)

By Associated Press July 8, 2017 6 min read

EL-ARISH, Egypt (AP) – The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for attacking a remote Egyptian army outpost in the Sinai Peninsula with a suicide car bomb and heavy machine gun fire. The assault killed at least 23 soldiers in the deadliest attack in the turbulent region in two years.

The IS made the claim after nightfall Friday, saying in an online statement that it had carried out the attack as the Egyptian army was preparing an assault on IS positions in Sinai.

The coordinated attack suggested the Sinai-based militants are among the region’s most resilient, after IS in Iraq and Syria, where the so-called caliphate is now witnessing its demise. And it underscored the struggles Egyptian forces face in trying to rein in the insurgency.

Egypt has for years battled militants in Sinai, where the jihadis have exploited the vast arid and underdeveloped region and its disgruntled Bedouin population as an ideal incubator for Islamic militancy even before the IS affiliate has emerged at the forefront of the insurgency.

Friday’s assault began in the early morning, when a suicide bomber rammed his vehicle into a checkpoint at a military compound in the village of el-Barth, southwest of the border town of Rafah.