Mortar round kills 5 Egyptian civilians in Sinai

Five Egyptian civilians were killed on Wednesday when a mortar round hit a house in a North Sinai village where the army is battling jihadist insurgents, security officials said.

It was not immediately clear who fired the projectile, which also wounded four people. Both soldiers and militants use mortars in skirmishes.

The military said on Monday it had killed 241 militants in the Sinai between July 1 and 5, while losing 21 soldiers in jihadist attacks.

The military has poured troops and armour into the peninsula where security forces have been fighting an Islamist insurgency since then-army chief and now President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi ousted president Mohamed Morsi in July 2013.

The leading militant group in the peninsula, which borders Israel and the Gaza Strip, has pledged allegiance to Daesh group in Iraq and Syria.
Source: AFP