An international peacekeeper base was attacked by gunmen in the Gora region of the Sinai Peninsula today. Approximately 60-70 militants stormed the barricades, which were manned by various international troops, and fired at the peacekeepers, wounding four. The attackers then set a vehicle and guard tower on fire, seized ammunition and communications equipment, and raised the black banner common to militant jihadi groups before retreating.
According to the Long War Journal, “no group has claimed credit for [the] attack, but an Al-Qaeda-linked jihadist group in Sinai recently threatened to attack UN peacekeepers and Egyptian troops.”
The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that local residents believe that the attack may be linked to the ongoing outrage caused by a film distributed online that defames Muhammad and that triggered destructive protests earlier in the week at the U.S. Embassy in Cairo.