Sinai-based militant group, Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis, released an online statement Wednesday claiming it had carried out an operation against Egyptian military forces in the Peninsula, amid the army's intensified crackdown on militancy in the region. The group, which previously claimed responsibility for the bomb attack targeting the Interior Minister's motorcade on Thursday, said in its Wednesday statement that it had attacked five military vehicles near the area of Sheikh Zuweid, claiming that more than six soldiers were killed and others injured. The group added that they attacked the army in retaliation for the latter's crackdown in Sheikh Zuweid, in which they claim the army targeted residents of the area, damaging their homes and cars. The statement did not mention the time that the motorcade was attacked and did not claim responsibility for Wednesday's bomb attack, which targeted military intelligence headquarters and a nearby checkpoint in Rafah, killing six soldiers and injuring ten other soldiers and seven civilians. Egypt's military forces have launched a broad offensive in the restive border Peninsula amid an increase in militant attacks since the ouster of president Mohamed Morsi in July. The army announced earlier that it had so far killed over 100 militants. Source : Ahram
