A military funeral was held Wednesday to honour the two judges who were killed on Tuesday in deadly attacks in Al-Arish.
The attack near the Swiss Inn hotel, hosting judges supervising elections in North Sinai, killed seven people, including two judges.
The funeral was held by Prime Minister Sherif Ismail, Minister of Defence Sedki Sobhi, as well as Minister of Justice Ahmed Al-Zind, and other military and judicial officials. The attack was severely condemned by governmental entities.
Tuesday’s attack was claimed by militant group “State of Sinai”, which released a statement hours after the bombings saying two individuals, Abu Hamza Al-Muhager and Abu Wada Al-Muhager, conducted the attack.
The statement read that Abu Hamza detonated his car bomb in front of the forces securing the hotel, while Abu Wada stormed the hotel shooting at the guests and then blowing himself up with a suicide bomb wrapped around his body. The group said in the statement, which was published on accounts of affiliated members, that the “operation came as a response to the arrest of Muslim women and their humiliation by the apostate army”.
The attack was also condemned by the US Embassy in Cairo, which said: “In targeting a hotel where elections officials were staying as the second phase of parliamentary elections was underway, terrorists attacked a symbol of the democratic process and Egypt’s development.”
A security source said that, despite the existence checkpoints outside the hotel, the militants were able to infiltrate using a car bomb. He added that this technique was used before in different attacks such as the attack on the Police Club in Al-Arish at the beginning of the month.
