An Egyptian Naval vessel on patrol off the coast of Sinai was struck by a high powered rocket fired by ISIS militants. The ship burst into flames upon impact.
The patrol boat was making its way along the Mediterranean coast line of the popular vacation destination when it spotted a group of militants on the shoreline and exchanged fire.
Map from the Daily Mail:
Reports from eyewitnesses suggest that a rocket was fired from the shore which hit the vessel that was roughly 1 to 2 nautical miles out to sea.
[revad1]
Due to the sheer distance of the ship, Egyptian authorities are also looking into the possibility that the attack was carried out by a terrorist that swam out to sea, placed the explosives on the boat and detonated them with a remote control.
Luckily no one was killed or severely injured in the blast. This is just the most recent example in a string of terrorist attacks against Egypt. Yesterday, Egyptian forces killed a man driving a car packed with explosives that was headed to blow up a military post. On July 1st 17 Egyptian soldiers were killed in a similar fashion.
ISIS has been visible in the Sinai region since last November when footage of 2,000 ISIS militants pledging allegiance to the terror group surfaced. Their spread through the nation has caused Egypt to become much more heavily involved in the fight against the Islamic state.
Here is footage of the smoldering ship:
____________________
More from Fox News:
CAIRO – The Islamic State’s affiliate in Egypt’s Sinai says it has destroyed an Egyptian navy vessel with a rocket off the strategic peninsula’s Mediterranean coast.
The claim of responsibility by the Sinai Province of the Islamic State, as the group calls itself, was made in a brief statement posted on Twitter accounts known to be linked to the group.
The authenticity of the statement could not be immediately verified, but it was accompanied by photos purporting to show what appears to be a rocket flying toward the vessel, a large explosion engulfing most of the boat and then black smoke rising up from the vessel.
How will Egypt respond to these attacks? Leave your thoughts in the comments below!
