CAIRO: Egypt’s army clashed with jihadists in Sinai on Friday, leaving two children dead as President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi flew home to deal with a wave of militant attacks that killed at least 30 people.

Health officials said a six-month-old baby was hit in the head by a bullet during the clashes and a six-year-old was killed in a rocket blast in the peninsula. Two more people including a 12-year-old were badly wounded by gunfire.

Friday’s violence came a day after jihadists targeted security forces with rockets and a car bomb in North Sinai province in simultaneous attacks claimed by an affiliate of the Islamic State group. Most of those killed were soldiers.

Sisi pulled out of a gathering of African leaders in Ethiopia and flew home to oversee the response to the attacks.

“After the terrorist operations in the North Sinai last night, the president decided to cut short his participation in the African Union summit after attending the opening session, and returned to Cairo to monitor the situation,” a statement from Sisi’s office said.

Security officials said the bodies of the 30 victims had been flown to Cairo.

It was the deadliest wave of attacks since October when 30 soldiers were killed and scores wounded in simultaneous assaults on security forces.

The fresh bloodshed came despite new security measures implemented in North Sinai since then.

Jihadists have regularly targeted security forces in the Sinai Peninsula since Islamist president Mohamed Morsi was ousted by then army chief Sisi in July 2013.

The October attack, also near El-Arish, prompted the authorities to build a buffer zone along the Gaza border to prevent militants infiltrating from the Palestinian enclave.

The militants say the attacks are in retaliation for a government crackdown against Morsi supporters in which hundreds have been killed, thousands jailed and dozens sentenced to death.

Published in Dawn, January 31st, 2015

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