(AFP PHOTO/SAID KHATIB)
A militant group claimed, on its website, that the two explosions that occurred in Sinai on Friday were the result of an Israeli drone strike that killed four of its members.
Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis, a group with ties to Al-Qaeda, listed the names of four men allegedly killed in the strike. In a statement, the group condemned the “complicity of the Egyptian army in this crime with the ‘Jewish state.’”
A funeral for the four fatalities was held on Saturday morning in Sheikh Zuweid, according to state-owned Al-Ahram, and was attended by approximately 3,000 people.
The Anti-Coup Alliance, the group supporting the return of ousted president Mohamed Morsi, also blamed the Egyptian and Israeli governments calling it a “shameful incident [that] constitutes a serious development that threatens Egyptian national security.”
It also condemned “this traitorous operation, and denounces Israeli aircraft carrying out terrorist attacks inside the Egyptian border, which resulted in the deaths of a number of Egyptians.”
Meanwhile, the Egyptian armed forces spokesman’s office said, on Friday, that there was no evidence of an Israeli missile strike in Sinai.
The armed forces also said investigations into the incident were underway in order to confirm the cause of the explosions.
Israel has not commented about the explosions, which took place in Sinai approximately 5 kilometres away from the Egyptian-Israeli border, and the Israeli defence ministry would not comment on alleged involvement on Saturday.
