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Islamic State Militants Launch Major Assault in Egypt's Sinai
(Washington Post) Erin Cunningham and Loveday Morris - Militants linked with the Islamic State unleashed a wave of attacks on the military in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula on Wednesday, briefly seizing key checkpoints. As many as 70 soldiers and civilians were killed in one of the most sophisticated attacks on the Egyptian army in decades. Throughout the day, militants were perched on rooftops in Sheikh Zuweid, a town of 60,000, firing on security installations. Zack Gold, a visiting fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv, said of the militants who now call themselves the "Sinai Province" of the Islamic State: "This isn't one of their regular hit-and-run attacks. They seem to be setting up for the longer haul." However, "the [Egyptian] military is more cohesive [than in Iraq] and has more firepower."