At least 11 Egyptian troops, including an officer, were killed Saturday in a terrorist attack on a water pumping station east of the Suez Canal, the country's military said. In a statement, it said at least five other troops were wounded in the attack, one of the deadliest against Egyptian security forces in recent years. Troops thwarted the attacks and were pursuing terrorists in an isolated area of the northern Sinai Peninsula, the statement added.
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Egypt's President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi mourned the death of the troops, vowing in a Facebook post to continue fighting the militants and "uprooting terrorism."
Two Northern Sinai residents said the attack took place in the town of Qantara in the province of Ismailia, which stretches eastwards from the Suez Canal.
The militants ambushed troops guarding the pumping facility, before fleeing to the desert in Northern Sinai, according to the residents who spoke on condition of anonymity for their safety.
