17 soldiers killed in Egypt car bomb blast

Cairo, Oct 24 :

At least 17 soldiers were killed and 25 injured in a car bomb explosion that targeted a security checkpoint in Egypt’s North Sinai province, said a security source, suggesting the toll is likely to increase.

“The blast targeted a military checkpoint of Karm al-Qawadis in Sheikh Zuweid, and it was carried out by Sinai militants,” the source told Xinhua, referring to the Sinai-based Al Qaeda-inspired Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis group that claimed responsibility for several previous attacks.

Friday’s blast came a couple of days after 10 people, including six policemen, were injured in a blast that targeted security men outside Cairo University in Giza.

Attacks on security men and premises have been growing since the ouster of former Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in July 2013 and the massive security crackdown on his supporters, which left about 1,000 of them dead and thousands more under arrest.

The attacks were initially concentrated in the Sinai Peninsula and later extended to the capital Cairo and other provinces across the country.

Earlier Sunday, seven soldiers were killed and four injured in an explosion that targeted their vehicle in Arish city in North Sinai.

Official reports say that at least 500 security men were killed in similar militant attacks over the past year. Ansar Bayt al-Maqdsi and Ajnad Misr extremist groups claimed responsibility for most of the attacks.

(IANS)