Egyptian president says Sinai attack makes Egyptians more resilient to combat terror

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi said that Friday's terrorist attack in North Sinai governorate will only make Egyptians more resilient to go on with the anti-terror battle.

On his official Facebook page, Sisi said this attack will give Egyptians more strength to continue the battle for existence and construction.

The Egyptian president mourned the victims and offered condolences to their families.

Earlier in the day, 12 army soldiers were killed when suspected Islamist assailants opened fire at a checkpoint in North Sinai province.

Meanwhile, the Egyptian army said in a statement that its forces killed 15 of the assailants, adding that search operations are underway to track more terrorists.

The attack happened in the central Sinai area, 40 km from the town of Bir al-Abd, an official security source told Xinhua.

This is the first major attack in the central Sinai area as Bir al-Abd has yet been so far from the reach of the violence that has threatened northern Sinai over the past three years.

The source noted that the assailants used rifles and automatic weapons, before fleeing the scene.

The victims have been transferred to El-Arish Hospital.

North Sinai has been experiencing growing waves of anti-security attacks since the army-led ouster of Islamist leader Mohamed Morsi in 2013, which killed hundreds of police and army men.

A Sinai-based militant group loyal to the Islamic State (IS) regional group claimed responsibility for most of attacks.

Earlier this month, gunmen killed five Egyptian police conscripts in El-Arish.

Intensified Egyptian military raids killed and arrested several hundreds of IS-affiliated extremists in North Sinai as part of the country's "anti-terrorism war" declared following Morsi's ouster. Endit