Egypt's army said Saturday that it thwarted an attack Friday on a security checkpoint in North Sinai's Al-Arish. In an official statement, military spokesman Tamer El-Refaie said the army was able to foil an attack by “extremist elements wearing army uniforms and carrying improvised explosive devices (IEDs), hand grenades, and firearms.” According to the statement, the militants were killed after their IEDs detonated as armed forces were combating them. The number of the militants killed was not provided, with El-Refaie posting pictures of the militants' corpses on the official page of the Egyptian armed forces. The foiled attempt comes after an attack that killed six army personnel in the North Sinai city Friday. A number of militants were killed and injured when army personnel returned fire. Egyptian security forces are battling a North Sinai-based Islamist insurgency that intensified following the ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013. Hundreds of security personnel have been killed by militants in recent years, while the army has killed hundreds of militants in security campaigns in the governorate.
