CAIRO — Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi on Friday cut short a visit to Ethiopia for a regional summit, returning home to deal with a wave of deadly terror attacks, his office said.
At least 26 people, mostly soldiers, were killed on Thursday when militants fired rockets and set off a car bomb in North Sinai province in simultaneous assaults claimed by an affiliate of the Islamic State group.
“After the terrorist operations in the North Sinai last night, the president decided to cut short his participation in the African Union summit after attending the opening session, and returned to Cairo to monitor the situation,” an official statement said.
The bloodshed came despite a series of security measures implemented by the authorities in North Sinai since an attack in October killed 30 soldiers and wounded scores.
Jihadists have regularly targeted security forces in the Sinai Peninsula since Islamist president Mohammed Morsi was ousted by then-army chief Sissi in July 2013.
Get The Times of Israel's Daily Edition
by email and never miss our top stories
By signing up, you agree to the
terms
The militants say the attacks are in retaliation for a government crackdown against Morsi supporters in which hundreds have been killed, thousands jailed and dozens sentenced to death.
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
— Gabriella Jacobs, multimedia journalist
Support our work
Support our work
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
