EL-ARISH, Egypt — A coordinated assault on an army checkpoint in the Sinai Peninsula killed 30 Egyptian troops on Friday, making it the deadliest single attack in decades on the military, which has been struggling to stem a wave of violence by Islamic extremists since the overthrow of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi.
Officials described it as “well-planned” attack that began with a car bomb which may have been set off by a suicide attacker. Other militants then fired rocket-propelled grenades, striking a tank carrying ammunition and igniting a secondary explosion. Roadside bombs intended to target rescuers struck two army vehicles, seriously wounding a senior officer.
State-run TV said clashes between troops and militants followed the attack, without providing further details. The attack took place some 9 miles from the northern Sinai city of el-Arish, in an area called Karm el-Qawadees.
Egypt’s National Defense Council declared a three-month state of emergency in areas near borders with Israel and the Gaza Strip in the northern part of Sinai Peninsula and ordered a three-hour curfew starting today. State TV also announced closure of the Rafah crossing, Gaza’s only non-Israeli passage to the outside world.
Officials said the death toll is expected to rise, with several people in critical condition.
