Suicide bomber kills 4 Bedouin in Egypt’s Sinai
Islamic State attacker drives explosive-filled car into checkpoint, near Rafah, manned by members of Tarabeen tribe
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Egyptian security officials said Tuesday that an Islamic State suicide bomber killed four members of a local Bedouin tribe and wounded others in the northern Sinai Peninsula.
They said the attacker, driving a car filled with explosives, struck a checkpoint near the town of Rafah, adjacent to the Gaza Strip, manned by members of the powerful Tarabeen tribe. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief reporters.
The Egyptian army has been battling a powerful Islamic State affiliate in northern Sinai since 2014.
Clashes erupted last week between the militants and local tribes after IS fighters shot at a truck smuggling cigarettes into an area where the extremists have banned tobacco.
The jihadists have killed hundreds of soldiers and policemen since the army overthrew Islamist president Mohammed Morsi in 2013.
The military has killed several of their top leaders, including a senior cleric and 18 jihadists last week, but the extremists have increasingly expanded their attacks from the Sinai to other parts of Egypt, especially against Christians.
Church bombings that killed 37 people on April 9 in the cities of Tanta and Alexandria followed a December suicide bombing in a Cairo church that was also claimed by IS.
The Times of Israel Community.