Death toll rises to 33 in Sinai attacks

World Today

In this Nov. 6, 2014 file photo, an Egyptian army armored vehicle stands on the on the Egyptian side of border town of Rafah, north Sinai, Egypt. Photo: AP

Egyptian officials on Friday raised the death toll to 33 from coordinated and simultaneous attacks that struck more than a dozen army and police targets in the restive Sinai Peninsula the previous night.

An Egyptian militant group affiliated with the Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attacks, which involved locations in three Sinai towns, and required a previously unseen level of coordination.

At least one suicide car bomb was set off outside a military base while mortars were simultaneously fired at the base, toppling some buildings and leaving soldiers buried under the debris, officials said.

Among the dead were at least 25 soldiers and a policeman. Health Ministry officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to reporters, said two civilians were also among those killed. A list of slain troops was released, showing three senior officers and saying there were also unidentified bodies and body parts.

At least 60 people were wounded, some critically, health officials said, adding that the death toll was expected to rise.

An Egyptian army spokesman blamed former Islamist President Mohammed Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood for orchestrating the attack.

This story is compiled with information from The Associated Press.