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El-Sisi attends military funeral for 31 soldiers killed in Sinai attacks Honorary military funeral held in Cairo on Saturday for the 31 Egyptian soldiers killed in Sinai on Friday
Egypt`s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi attended on Saturday afternoon an honorary military funeral for 31 soldiers who lost their lives on Friday in two militant attacks in the Sinai peninsula, Al-Ahram Arabic news website reported. Twenty-eight soldiers were killed and another 30 injured when a car bomb exploded at the Karm Alkwadis security checkpoint in Sheikh Zuweid in North Sinai Friday. Hours later, three security personal were killed when militants opened fire at a checkpoint in nearby Al-Arish. Soon after the attacks, a state of emergency was declared in the peninsula, including a curfew from 5pm until 7am. Defence Minister Sedki Sobhi and chief-of-staff Mahmoud Hegazy also attended the funeral, which was held at Al-Maza military airport in east Cairo. After the funeral, El-Sisi extended his condolences to the families of the martyrs, swearing that the government will arrest the perpetrators. Earlier on Saturday, in an emergency meeting with members of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, El-Sisi tasked a group of its senior leaders with studying the circumstances of the latest attacks in Sinai. Following the SCAF meeting, El-Sisi also made remarks to the nation on Saturday, broadcast on state television, vowing that "action will be taken against terror." The president blamed Friday's attacks on "foreign hands", and vowed to retaliate against the perpetrators. Over 40 security personnel have been killed in attacks in the Sinai Peninsula this week, including the two attacks on Friday. A militant insurgency by jihadist groups in the peninsula has become more active since the ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013. Hundreds of police and soldiers, as well as militants, have been killed. http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/113923.aspx
