
The area is a stronghold of the Egyptian affiliate of the Islamic State (ISIS) group that calls itself “Sinai Province”.
The jihadists have stepped up attacks which they say are in retaliation for a bloody crackdown on supporters of Islamist president Mohammed Morsi following his overthrow by the army in 2013.
Militants loyal to ISIS have killed hundreds of Egyptian soldiers and policemen, mostly in the northern Sinai.
The army also regularly announces the death or capture of jihadists although its figures cannot be independently verified.


