Israel Condemns Deadly Attack On Egyptian Forces

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu issued a statement denouncing the killing of at least 16 Egyptian security forces near Cairo (the official tally is significantly less than the more than 50 policemen and officers initially reported murdered), in a rare attack by Islamic fighters outside the Sinai Peninsula. “Israel strongly condemns the severe terrorist attack [and] sends condolences…to Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi and the people of Egypt,” Netanyahu’s Office said in a statement. While no group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, Egypt has for years been battling a fierce insurgency against the so-called Sinai Province, which pledged allegiance to ISIS in 2014. Israel, which shares a border with the Peninsula, has been actively aiding Cairo to suppress the insurrection that has claimed the lives of hundreds of Egyptian military personnel. Last week, the ISIS affiliate fired two rockets from Sinai into southern Israel, which triggered widespread code red missile alert sirens. There are growing fears that with ISIS on the retreat in both Iraq and Syria, some of its members will seek to join Sinai Province, which is considered one of the terror group’s most organized and entrenched offshoots.