A terror outfit which has allegiance to dreaded Islamic State militant group has claimed responsibility for the Egypt attack that killed three judges and a driver in volatile North Sinai province
Cairo: A terror outfit which has allegiance to dreaded Islamic State militant group has claimed responsibility for the Egypt attack that killed three judges and a driver in volatile North Sinai province.
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North Sinai province militant group yesterday claimed the responsiblity for the attack which is the first of its kind in Sinai. It targeted the vehicle, the judges were travelling in from Ismailiya to El-Arish for a court hearing.
The shooting happened hours after a Cairo court sentenced deposed President Mohammed Morsi and over 100 other Islamists to death over mass prison breaks during the 2011 uprising. The militants stormed a bus that was carrying a number of judges. Two other people were injured in the incident.
Ansar Beit el-Maqdes which changed its name to Sinai Province after it pledged allegiance to Islamic State militant group, has earlier claimed responsibility of many attacks against security forces in the restive North Sinai.
The Sinai peninsula has witnessed many violent attacks by militants since the January 2011 revolution that toppled president Hosni Mubarak.
The attacks targeting police and military increased after the ouster of Morsi in 2013. More than 500 security personnel have been killed since then.
The military has also launched security campaigns in the area, arrested suspects and demolished houses that belong to terrorists, including those facilitating tunnels leading to the Gaza Strip.