Egypt: Militants attack UN peacekeepers’ airport in Sinai

CAIRO

Militants from a Daesh-linked group fired rockets at an airport used by UN peacekeepers in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula late Tuesday, according to an Egyptian military source.

“Terrorist elements fired mortar shells at Al-Goura Airport late Tuesday,” the source, requesting anonymity, told Anadolu Agency.

No casualties or damage were reported as a result of the attack.

The UN peacekeeping mission in Sinai, known as the Multinational Forces and Observers (MFO), was established following a 1979 peace treaty between Egypt and Israel.

Responsibility for Tuesday’s attack was claimed by the “Welayat Sinai” (“Sinai Province”) militant group, formerly known as Ansar Beit al-Maqdis.

Speaking via Twitter, the group said it had fired six mortar shells at the airport in retaliation for the recent detention of a woman by security forces.

Active in the peninsula’s volatile northern region, Welayat Sinai acquired its current name after reportedly swearing allegiance to Daesh, the militant group that last year overran vast swathes of both Iraq and Syria.

Ever since Mohamed Morsi, Egypt's first freely-elected president, was deposed by the military in a coup in 2013, Egyptian security forces have been waging a campaign against militants in Sinai.

The same period has also witnessed frequent attacks on army and police personnel across Sinai, which shares borders with both Israel and the blockaded Gaza Strip.