Two women killed in Sinai as clashes persist
Grenade hits home in Rafah, killing occupants, amid regional violence between jihadists and the Egyptian army
Two women were killed in a grenade attack overnight Sunday in the Sinai Peninsula amid ongoing clashes between Islamists and Egyptian security forces.
The incident occurred near Rafah, on the border of the Gaza Strip. Islamists hurled a grenade at a security barrier, but the explosive hit a house nearby, killing its two female occupants, Israel’s Channel 2 reported.
In an attack near el-Arish, a woman and two children were injured by an RPG missile.
A man was also shot to death by the Egyptian army at a checkpoint in el-Arish, after he violated the nightly curfew, which was implemented in October in North Sinai by Egypt.
The clashes between Islamists and Egyptian troops have persisted since Thursday, when jihadists targeted security forces with rockets and a car bomb in North Sinai province in simultaneous attacks claimed by an affiliate of the Islamic State group. At least 30 people were killed in the attacks.
On Friday, health officials said a six-month-old baby was hit in the head by a bullet during the clashes and a six-year-old was killed in a rocket blast in the Sinai Peninsula. Two more people including a 12-year-old were badly wounded.
Thursday’s attacks were the deadliest since October when 30 soldiers were killed and scores wounded in simultaneous assaults.
The Islamic State group’s Egyptian affiliate, Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis, claimed Thursday’s assaults, saying on Twitter that it had “executed extensive, simultaneous attacks in the cities of el-Arish, Sheikh Zuweid and Rafah.”
The organization in November pledged allegiance to IS, which has captured large chunks of territory in Syria and Iraq.