October 2014 Sinai attacks

Part of the Sinai insurgency

Date

24 October 2014

Location

Sheikh Zuweid and Al-Arish, Sinai Peninsula, Egypt
Coordinates: 31°6′12″N 33°50′56″E / 31.10333°N 33.84889°E

Result

State of emergency declared in the North Sinai Governorate.

Rafah Border Crossing closed indefinitely.
Rapid Deployment Forces deployed to the region.
Buffer zone to be established along the border with Gaza.

Belligerents

Egypt

Egyptian Army

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant

Units involved

Wilayah Sinai

Casualties and losses

33 soldiers killed
1 M60 destroyed
1 M113 destroyed

Unknown

State of emergency declared in the North Sinai Governorate.

Egypt

On 24 October 2014, ISIL militants launched two attacks on Egyptian army positions in the Sinai Peninsula, killing at least 33 security personnel. This was one of the deadliest assaults on the Egyptian military in decades.

The first attack in Sheikh Zuweid killed at least 30 soldiers, while the second one (which took place three hours later near Al-Arish) killed three soldiers. The incidents prompted Egypt's president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to call for a security meeting, during which a three-months state of emergency and curfew were announced. In addition, the Rafah border crossing with Gaza was closed, a buffer zone between Gaza and Egypt will be initiated, a Hamas delegation was refused entry into Egypt, and peace talks between Israel and Gaza were postponed.

The first attack took place at a heavily guarded military checkpoint near the town of Sheikh Zuweid. Around 2 p.m., a car bomb exploded, killing 18 soldiers or more. When more officers were deployed to the bomb site, gunmen rushed in, some of them on vehicles, and attacked using rocket-propelled grenades and other heavy weaponry, killing ten soldiers at least.

Three more soldiers were killed in the second attack when militants opened fire at them, which occurred at a checkpoint in the city of Al-Arish.

On 14 November 2014, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant linked militant group Wilayat Sinai published a graphic propaganda video claiming responsibility and showing the execution of the attack.

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Wikipedia