Egyptian air force F-16 fighter jets pounded jihadist positions in the Sinai Peninsula Wednesday afternoon.
The airstrikes were in response to a deadly coordinated attack against 15 separate military positions by an affiliate of the Daesh group, which left at least 60 Egyptian soldiers dead.
Egyptian security officials said jets hit ISIS positions in the town of Sheikh Zuweid, militants are setting barricades, beseiging the local police station and mining the streets.
The "Sinai Province" of the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack shortly after it took place. The assault involved three suicide bombers and among other things targeted an Egyptian army officers' club.
The attack came just one day after Egypt's President Sisi vowed to crackdown on extremism, following the assassination of Egypt's top prosecutor in a Cairo bombing on Monday that was also claimed by ISIS.
Under Egypt's peace treaty with Israel, airstrikes and other major military deployments in the Sinai Peninsula require Israeli approval, since it is technically a demilitarized zone. Israel has been quick to approve Egyptian offensives against the extremists on its borders in the past, but Wednesday's attack underscores the resilience of the militants, who have been waging a years-long insurgency against the Egyptian government.
