October 2016 Sinai attacks
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bir al-Abed, North Sinai, Egypt| October 2016 Sinai attacks | |
|---|---|
| Part of the Sinai insurgency | |
  Bir al-Abd Bir al-Abd (Egypt) | |
| Location | Bir al-Abed, North Sinai, Egypt |
| Date | 14 October 2016 |
| Target | Soldiers of the Egyptian Armed Forces |
Attack type | Bomb attack, shooting |
| Weapons | Mortar rounds, rockets and assault rifles |
| Deaths | 12 |
| Injured | 8 |
| Perpetrators |  Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
|
The October 2016 Sinai attacks was a terrorist attack on an Egyptian army checkpoint in the city of Bir al-Abed, Egypt (located 40 kilometers west of Al-Arish), on 14 October 2016. A group of militants armed with assault rifles and heavier weapons attacked an Egyptian army checkpoint while mortar rounds and rockets were fired directed to a military checkpoint. In response, the Egyptian military forces killed around 15 militants following the attack. The Islamic State's Wilayat Sinai branch claimed responsibility in a statement released later the same day.[1][2][3]
According to Al Jazeera, Bir al-Abed had been largely spared the violence that had rocked northern Sinai by insurgents following the ouster of Morsi 3 years ago.[2] The attack came weeks after Egypt marks its first anniversary of the Metrojet Flight 9268 crash over the Sinai Peninsula on October 31, 2015.
The attack began early in the morning when militants approached and attacked a military checkpoint. The attack resulted the deaths of 12 Egyptian army personnel and wounded six others.[1]
The Egyptian army spokesman said in a statement that soldiers clashed with the assailants in the northern Sinai. A police official and medic told Agence France-Presse that mortar rounds and rockets were fired towards the army post by militants. The Egyptian army eliminated at least 15 suspected militants in response to the attack.[1]
Responsibility
The Islamic State's Wilayat Sinai branch quickly claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement posted on social messaging app, Telegram. The statement said that its "soldiers" were "safe and sound" and had seized arms and ammunition's from the Egyptian Army during the attack on the military checkpoint.[1]
