* Security forces, civilians among dead * Questions raised about ending insurgency ISMAILIA/CAIRO, Egypt — Daesh (the so-called IS militants launched a wide-scale coordinated assault on several military checkpoints in Egypt's North Sinai on Wednesday in which 100 people were killed, security sources said, the largest attack yet in the insurgency-hit province. Egyptian army F-16 jets and Apache helicopters strafed the region that lies within the Sinai Peninsula, a strategic area located between Israel, the Gaza Strip and the Suez Canal. It was the second high-profile attack in Egypt this week. On Monday, the prosecutor general was killed in a car bombing in Cairo. The attacks raise questions about the government's ability to contain a Sinai-based insurgency that has already killed hundreds of police and soldiers. The Egyptian affiliate of Daesh, Sinai Province, claimed responsibility for the attacks in a Twitter statement. The army said five checkpoints were attacked by about 70 militants and that soldiers had destroyed three landcruisers fitted with anti-aircraft guns. Without giving a breakdown, the army spokesman said the death toll among soldiers and attackers had increased. The militants have previously carried out some big attacks that have killed scores of security personnel but in general they have focused on smaller-scale targets. Wednesday's incident, in which fighting raged for more than eight hours, marks the biggest onslaught yet. The exact breakdown of identities of those killed was not immediately clear. Security sources said at least 36 people, including soldiers, policemen and civilians were killed and 38 militants were also killed. The army spokesman first said 10 soldiers were killed or wounded and 22 attackers were killed. He later added that the number of deaths had increased on both sides. Doctor Osama El-Sayed of El-Arish General Hospital in the provincial capital said 30 bodies had been brought in, "some of whom were wearing army fatigues". Most of the action seemed to be in the Sheikh Zuweid town. Security sources said militants had surrounded a police station in Sheikh Zuweid and had planted bombs around it to prevent forces from leaving. They also said the militants had planted bombs along a road between Sheikh Zuweid and an army camp to prevent the movement of any army supplies or reinforcements. The militants seized two armored vehicles, weapons and ammunition, the sources said. Witnesses and security sources also reported hearing two explosions in the nearby town of Rafah, which borders Gaza. The sources said all roads leading to Rafah and Sheikh Zuweid were shut down and residents were staying in their homes. The insurgency, which is seeking to topple the Cairo government has intensified since 2013, when then-army chief Abdel Fattah El-Sisi removed President Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood after mass protests against his rule. Sisi, who regards the Brotherhood as a threat to national security, has since overseen a harsh crackdown on Islamists. The courts have sentenced hundreds of alleged Brotherhood supporters to death in recent months. Morsi himself, and other senior Brotherhood figures, also face the death penalty. Sinai Province said in Wednesday's statement that it had attacked more than 15 security sites and carried out three suicide bombings. "It is a sharp reminder that despite the intensive counter terrorism military campaign in the Sinai over the past 6 months, the Daesh ranks are not decreasing — if anything they are increasing in numbers as well as sophistication, training and daring," Aimen Dean, a former Al-Qaeda insider who now runs a Gulf-based security consultancy, said in a note. Daesh had urged its followers to escalate attacks during the holy month of Ramadan which started in mid-June, though it did not specify Egypt as a target. — Reuters
