Islamic State claims deadly attack in Ismailia, first in mainland Egypt in 3 years

From AFP via the Times of Israel  and Associated Press via VoA

CAIRO, Egypt — The Islamic State jihadist group said Saturday that it had carried out a deadly attack on an Egyptian police checkpoint in the Suez Canal city of Ismailia the previous day.

“A cell of soldiers of the caliphate managed to attack an Egyptian police roadblock… with a machine gun,” the jihadist group’s Amaq news agency said.

Three Egyptian policemen were killed in the attack, the first of its kind in nearly three years in mainland Egypt, which has largely been spared the deadly insurgency in the nearby Sinai peninsula.

The dead included three police officers and a still unidentified person, the hospital document obtained by The Associated Press showed. The attack also wounded 12 others, mostly conscripts who were taken to a hospital, according to a casualty tally document at the hospital.

The attack took place late in the afternoon in Ismailia city, on the western side of the Suez Canal, according to security officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media. The media office of Ismailia province described the attack as a terrorist strike.

State-run al-Qahera New television reported that security forces killed one of the attackers. It broadcast graphic footage purportedly showing a body, saying it was the dead militant.

Some footage on Twitter below

[ 🇪🇬 ÉGYPTE ]

🔸 Hier, deux hommes armés ont ouvert le feu contre un barrage de sécurité situé dans la ville d'Ismaïlia, tuant trois policiers. Les autorités dénoncent une attaque djihadiste. pic.twitter.com/yWdWluQpEX

— (Little) Think Tank (@L_ThinkTank) December 31, 2022