by WorldTribune Staff, October 16, 2016

Egypt launched airstrikes on Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) targets in Sinai on Oct. 15, one day after ISIL jihadists killed 12 Egyptian security personnel.

“A targeted airstrike, which lasted for three hours, resulted in the destruction of the areas … that harbored terrorists, as well as locations for assembling weapons and ammunition,” the Egyptian military said in a statement, adding that the operation was ongoing.

Sinai Province, ISIL’s affiliate in the Sinai Peninsula, claimed responsibility on for the Oct. 14 attack on a checkpoint 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the town of Bir al-Abd. ISIL said that it had killed more than 20 soldiers while suffering no losses itself. The military said 12 Egyptian personnel and 15 ISIL jihadists had been killed.

It was the first major attack in the central Sinai area, which had until then escaped ISIL’s insurgency.

Sinai Province pledged allegiance to ISIL in 2014. It is blamed for the killing of hundreds of soldiers and policemen, and has recently began to attack Western targets within Egypt.

  Bir al-Abd, Egypt launches retaliatory airstrikes on ISIL in Sinai, Sinai Province, WorldTribune.com