‘We’re in . . . state of war,’ Egyptian PM declares

Islamic State-linked group kills 60 in Sinai, days after president vows crackdown

CAIRO— Egypt’s army suffered its deadliest blow in years of fighting Islamist militants in the Sinai Peninsula, losing dozens of soldiers in a wave of attacks as authorities vowed to respond with more firepower and harsher laws.

More than 60 security personnel and six civilians were killed on Wednesday by assailants who used rockets and car bombs, according to the security directorate in north Sinai, which borders Israel and the Gaza Strip. The army command in Cairo gave a confirmed death toll of 17 soldiers in a televised statement, and said more than 100 of the jihadists were killed as F16 jets and Apache helicopters were deployed in pursuit. A group linked to Islamic State claimed responsibility.

President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, speaking at the funeral of a top prosecutor assassinated in Cairo this week, vowed to intensify a crackdown on militants, and his government rushed to tighten laws after Wednesday’s attack. The former army chief led the ouster of an Islamist predecessor two years ago and has since presided over the suppression of the Muslim Brotherhood, without being able to halt the violence.

“You’re going to have pressure inside the military for revenge,” said Samuel Tadros, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute in Washington.

“This will mean a heavier crackdown in Sinai, which will not lead to anything. Unfortunately, the anger the regime, the public and the army feel at the moment prohibits the possibility of developing a new strategy.”

The strikes, mostly in or around the town of Sheikh Zuwayid, come two years after mass protests against the elected Islamist president Mo- hammed Morsi and his subsequent overthrow. The anniversary has sparked an increase in violence, including the killing this week of chief prosecutor Hisham Barakat, who played a role in the trial of leading Islamists after Morsi’s fall. Many have been sentenced to death.

Egypt’s authorities accuse the Muslim Brotherhood, which won a string of elections after the 2011 uprising against Hosni Mubarak, of being behind much of the violence. The group has mostly expressed a commitment to peaceful protest against el-Sissi’s rule, though it also endorsed a religious decree calling for his removal by any means necessary.

On Wednesday, security forces killed nine members of the Brotherhood in an exchange of gunfire at an apartment west of Cairo, according to police. The Interior Ministry said weapons and evidence of plans for attacks were found there.

The Brotherhood issued a statement calling the act an “assassination” and warned of a “new stage where the anger of the oppressed cannot be contained.”

Authorities are also signalling an escalation.

“We’re in a real state of war,” said Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab. The cabinet approved new anti-terrorism laws late Wednesday to speed up trials.

In an emailed response to questions, Steven Cook, a senior research fellow for Middle Eastern studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, said it is “clear that the Egyptian government is going to pursue a repressive political strategy to try to deal with the challenge of extremism and terrorism.” He added the risk is that “repression can produce a larger pool of people willing to take up arms against the state.”

The persistent violence threatens to undercut efforts by el-Sissi to persuade investors that Egypt is stabilizing after years of unrest, and revive an economy that has stagnated since Mubarak’s ouster.