At least 31 Egyptian soldiers killed in attacks in Sinai

Egyptian checkpoint in the North Sinai.

Updated. At least 31 Egyptian soldiers have been killed on Friday in two attacks in the Sinai. Twenty-eight were killed and another 30 injured when a car bomb exploded at the Karm Alkwadis security checkpoint in Sheikh Zuweid. An just hours later three security personal died when militants opened fire at a checkpoint in nearby Al-Arish.
The death toll in Sheikh Zuweid was the largest number of soldiers to die in a single attack in the region.
The injured were transferred to the military and general hospitals in Al-Arish, the biggest city in North Sinai. Medical teams were sent to Al-Arish military hospital, said Health Minister Adel El-Adawi. Al-Arish general hospital called on local residents to donate blood.
President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi has declared three days of national mourning. El-Sisi will hold a meeting with the National Defence Council on Friday evening. The council is made up of cabinet ministers, commanders of the armed forces, and is chaired by the president.
Over 40 security personnel have been killed in attacks in the Sinai Peninsula this week, including the two attacks on Friday. A militant insurgency by jihadist groups in the peninsula has become more active since the ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013. Hundreds of police and soldiers, as well as militants, have been killed.