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Eight service members of the Egyptian military were killed and two others were injured when an improvised explosive device (IED) ripped through an armored vehicle in the Sinai Peninsula, the Egyptian military announced on April 30.
Col. Tamer al-Rifai, a spokesman for the army, said the attack took place south of the town of Bir al-Abd in the northern part of Sinai.
“The armed forces affirm that they will continue their combat operations against terrorist elements to preserve the security and stability of the country,” the spokesman said.
Egyptian sources identified the eight casualties as:
- Lt. Abdel Hamid Sobhy Abdel Hamid;
- WO Shehata Mustafa Abu al-Yazid;
- Pte. Ahmed Abdullah;
- Pte. Ahmed Hamed Mohamed;
- Pte. Ahmed Ali Ahmed;
- Pte. Mohamed Hassanein Ali;
- Pte. Abanoub Abdel Tawab Boles;
- Pte. Mohamed Abdel Aziz al-Gohary.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, yet. However, several sources said that ISIS, whose cells are highly-active in Sinai, was behind it.
In the last few weeks, ISIS cells carried out a series of IED attacks on Egyptian military vehicles and troops in northern Sinai.
