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Egyptian Army kills 70 ISIS terrorists in Sinai

With the rise of Islamic terror forces in the Sinai, Israel activated a military clause in its peace accords with Egypt that allowed the entry of Egyptian tanks and fighter planes into the Sinai to fight the Islamic terror group.

The Egyptian army carried out a massive onslaught against Islamic State (ISIS) terrorists in the Sinai Peninsula on Sunday, killing at least 70 and wounding some 70 others.

The attack was carried out in response to the assassination of Brig. Gen. Adel Ragai, commander of the Egyptian Army’s 9th Armored Division, by ISIS terrorists outside his Cairo home on Saturday.

It was not immediately clear why Ragai was killed, but ISIS terrorists have targeted army and police officers in the past.

The airstrikes were the largest Egyptian military action in the Sinai in years.

The Egyptian cabinet denounced the ISIS attack. A statement the government issued quoted Prime Minister Sherif Ismail as saying that such violence only strengthens the resolve of the country’s security forces to defeat the terrorists.

The Egyptian army has been conducting an extensive campaign in the northern Sinai against anti-regime Islamic terrorists who, together with Hamas, have carried out several deadly attacks against Egypt’s security forces and aspire to extend ISIS’ caliphate into the Sinai.

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About four years ago, with the rise of Islamic terror forces in the Sinai, Israel activated a military clause in its peace accords with Egypt that allowed the entry of Egyptian tanks and fighter planes into the Sinai to quell the insurgency.

ISIS in Sinai has also issued several threats against Israel, and Israel is taking the threats seriously.

By: World Israel News Staff
JNS.org contributed to this report.