The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for attacking a remote Egyptian army outpost in the Sinai Peninsula with a suicide car bomb and heavy machine gun fire.
The assault killed at least 23 soldiers in the deadliest attack in the turbulent region in two years.
The Islamic State made the claim after nightfall on Friday, saying in an online statement that it had carried out the attack as the Egyptian Army was preparing an assault on its positions in Sinai.
The coordinated attack suggested the Sinai-based militants are among the region’s most resilient, after the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria, where the so-called caliphate is now witnessing its demise.
It underscored the struggles Egyptian forces face in trying to rein in the insurgency.
Egypt has for years battled militants in Sinai, where they have exploited the vast arid and underdeveloped region and its Bedouin population as an ideal incubator for Muslim militancy even before the Islamic State affiliate has emerged at the forefront of the insurgency.
Friday’s assault began in the early morning, when a suicide bomber rammed his vehicle into a checkpoint at a military compound in the village of al-Barth, southwest of the border town of Rafah.
Dozens of masked militants descended on the site in 24 Land Cruiser SUVs and opened fire on the soldiers with machine guns, security officials said.
The shooting lasted nearly half an hour, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of regulations. The troops at the compound were estimated to have numbered about 60.
When the attack subsided, the militants apparently looted the checkpoint, snatching weapons and ammunition before fleeing, the officials said.
A number of militants were killed in the shootout — indicating that the soldiers had fought back — and some of their vehicles were abandoned at the scene.
The suicide blast at the start of the attack likely disabled the checkpoint’s military communications system, prompting one of the officers to use his own cellphone to record an audio message and send it to a colleague via WhatsApp, seeking help and asking for prayers.
The message was later widely circulated on social media.
“This might be the last seconds in my life,” a man’s voice calmly says in the recording. “Quickly, oh men, anyone who knows how to reach the command center, notify them to use artillery as we are still alive.”
He then ends by saying “we will either avenge them or die,” referring to his fallen colleagues.
In Washington, US Department of State spokeswoman Heather Nauert said the US strongly condemned the Sinai attack and continues “to stand with Egypt as it confronts terrorism.”
The security officials initially put the death toll at 10, but later told reporters that more bodies were pulled from under the rubble of a nearby building that was used as a rest house for troops.
According to the Islamic State statement, a second car bomber was used in the attack to strike an army convoy sent as a reinforcement to the embattled soldiers.
The authenticity of the claim could not be verified, but it was circulated by Islamic State supporters online and by the US-based SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors jihadi Web sites.
Earlier, Egyptian army spokesman Tamer el-Rifai confirmed the attack on Facebook, saying that 26 army personnel were killed or wounded.
He did not provide a breakdown.
He said the army on Friday foiled attacks that targeted a number of other checkpoints in the Rafah area and that 40 militants were killed.
Local Sinai residents, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear for their safety, said they saw Apache helicopters carrying out airstrikes across Rafah after the attack.
Al-Rifai posted photographs of allegedly slain militants dressed in military uniforms, typically worn by Islamic State personnel.
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