Over 30 gunmen said killed in Egyptian strikes in Sinai

Officials says assault on Islamic State affiliate foiled planned jihadist attacks on soldiers

The Egyptian military on Tuesday night bombed multiple sites in the northern Sinai Peninsula linked to the Islamic State affiliate in the area, the Palestinian news agency Ma’an reported Wednesday.

The strikes are estimated to have killed some 33 gunmen from Sinai Province, the jihadist group that has sworn allegiance to IS.

The five separate airstrikes in the villages of Beit Amira, al-Shalaq and al-Lufitat, south of the town of Sheikh Zuweid, also left as many as 50 injured, Ma’an said.

An Egyptian military source told Ma’an that the strikes helped foil attacks that were being planned against Egyptian soldiers in the restive peninsula.

They also may have caused a brief disruption in the flow of electricity to Sheikh Zuweid, the Egyptian half of the city of Rafah, and parts of the southern Gaza Strip.

There was no separate confirmation of the news Wednesday.

The Egyptian military has fought a two-year campaign against Sinai Province since it declared allegiance to Islamic State in 2014.

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