10 soldiers killed in Sinai roadside bombings

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March 23, 2017 12:56 PM

Fifteen jihadists were also killed in the fighting, the military said in a statement, without saying when the incidents took place.

Jihadists in Egypt have killed hundreds of soldiers and policemen since the army overthrew Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013 and cracked down on his supporters

Ten Egyptian soldiers were killed in two roadside bombings as they clashed with Islamic State group jihadists in the Sinai Peninsula, the military said on Thursday.

The military said the clashes broke out when soldiers raided "an extremely dangerous" jihadist hideout.

The Islamic State group had said in a statement on Wednesday afternoon that it blew up two army vehicles during clashes south of the Sinai city of El-Arish.

The jihadists have killed hundreds of soldiers and policemen since the army overthrew Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013 and cracked down on his supporters.

The attacks have mostly been confined to Sinai, which borders Israel and the Palestinian Gaza Strip, but the jihadists have also struck elsewhere.

In October 2015, the group claimed responsibility for bombing a Russian airliner carrying holidaymakers from a south Sinai resort, killing all 224 people on board.

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