President Al-Sisi has announced three days of national mourning after at least 31 soldiers were killed and 30 injured in two separate attacks on Friday in the North Sinai town of Sheikh Zuweid. According to CBC, a local satellite channel, 28 soldiers were killed and 30 injured after a car bomb targeted a military checkpoint. According to initial reports, a suicide bomber rammed a vehicle packed with explosives into a military checkpoint, killing the soldiers, primarily in their twenties, that had been stationed at the Karm Al-Qawadees checkpoint. Hours later, three security officials were killed when militants opened fire on a security checkpoint near Al-Arish. State media has reported clashes near where 28 soldiers were killed. Heavily armed militants, armed with grenades, rockets and automatic rifles, reportedly attacked reinforcements at the military checkpoint after the initial car bomb. Meanwhile, the Minister of Defence has commenced a ‘large military operation’ in Egypt’s Sinai to locate and target extremist militant groups. According to local media, the operation has commenced with the targeting of multiple hideouts and areas using Apache helicopters. Health officials have meanwhile warned that the death toll may rise as many of those…
