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7 die as Bad Guys knock over Sinai bank
 EL-ARISH, Egypt: In a brazen daytime attack, about a dozen militants robbed a local bank, lobbed grenades and traded gunfire with security forces guarding an unused church in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula on Monday, killing seven people, including three civilians, officials said.The militants drove into the city center of El-Arish in the morning then split into two groups. One group traded gunfire with the guards outside the Church of Saint George, security and military officials said. Services at the church were suspended months ago, following a wave of attacks on Christians in Sinai. The church attack was meant as a distraction from the bank, where the second group of militants first shot and killed the bank guards, then stormed in and emptied its safe. The heavy security and military forces deployed in the city put up little resistance. The attacks left three civilians, including a child, three guards and one soldier dead and wounded another 15 people, including women and children, the officials said. The two groups of attackers were caught on camera while fleeing the site of the clashes in a stolen pickup and three motorcycles. “They looted the entire bank and left explosive devices inside,” a senior security official said. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to reporters. Egypt’s state news agency MENA confirmed that three policemen were killed in an armed attack on the bank in El-Arish. Posted by: badanov 2017-10-17 |
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