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Egypt's Air Force aircraft attacked on Saturday a group of militants affiliated with Islamic State (ISIL, or Daesh in the Arab world) extremist group in the north of Sinai Peninsula, killing more than 40 terrorists, local media reported, citing sources in the country's army.
Moreover, 15 extremists from the Wilayat Sinai (Sinai Province) militant group got injuries, the Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper said.
Attack helicopters, warplanes and ground forces took part in the large scale military operation, according to the daily.
Egypt is fighting a jihadist insurgency in Sinai since the army, led by President Abdel Fattah Sisi, overthrew the then Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013.
Formerly known as Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, Wilayat Sinai changed the name and pledged its allegiance to Daesh, outlawed in a number of countries, including Russia, in November 2014.
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A suicide bomber rammed his vehicle into a police club in northern Sinai, killing at least six Egyptian policemen and injuring 10 others. An ISIS affiliate has claimed the attack, which comes days after a Russian passenger plane crashed in the region.
In a statement Wednesday, the jihadist group Sinai Province claimed responsibility for the attack in the city of El Arish, describing it as a suicide bombing against the "apostate" police force in retaliation for the arrests of Bedouin women in the region, according to AFP. The group has killed hundreds of Egyptian soldiers and police since the Egyptian army overthrew the Islamist president, Mohamed Mursi, in 2013, following mass protests against his rule.
ISIS claims '50 killed' in attacks on Egyptian checkpoints in Sinai
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