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12 Egyptian soldiers killed in Sinai clash with ISIS affiliate

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Several members of Egypt’s security forces were killed in the Sinai Peninsula on Wednesday in violent clashes with an insurgent group affiliated to ISIS.

Egypt army spokesman Tamer el-Rifai said that security forces were carrying out a raid on a suspected Sinai Province base, where they uncovered explosives, weapons, ammunition and equipment, including roadside bombs, computers, solar panels, documents and mobile phones. However, two roadside bombs killed ten soldiers and then two policemen were killed in clashes at the police station in el-Arish.

The Sinai Province terror group has conducted attacks against the regime of Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi since the ousting of the Muslim Brotherhood in 2013, persistently attacking Egyptian military forces in Sinai and inflicting serious casualties.

Although the government has been the primary target for Sinai Province, the group has also made clear that it is committed to attacking Israel, which borders the Sinai Peninsula. It has periodically fired rockets into southern Israel and is thought to have been responsible for a complex cross-border attack in 2011, which killed six Israeli civilians, two IDF personnel and several Egyptian soldiers.

Israel and Egypt work closely on security-related matters, especially over combatting Islamist terror groups in the Sinai Peninsula. At a conference in Tel Aviv yesterday, Israel’s ambassador to Egypt, David Govrin, praised the “close ties” between the countries’ leaders “based on trust and mutual respect”. However, Govrin said the strong relationship relies “to too great an extent on the military” and he encouraged greater “civilian-economic” cooperation.

Speaking at the same event, Egypt’s Ambassador to Israel, Hazem Khairat, said: “Our peace is stable… a constructive dialogue to achieve our mutual goals in achieving stability and prosperity in the region and defeating terrorism.”

Khairat also addressed the Israel-Palestinian conflict, saying: “The two-state solution is the only possible way forward. If one really wants to reach peace… it would be up to both parties to reach their final agreement through direct negotiations.”