(AP)Egypt’s security forces were on high alert Saturday after striking back at militants whose massacre of more than 300 people at a Sinai mosque raised fears of a new and bloodier phase in the country’s struggle against Islamist insurgents. Egyptian security forces have been locked in battle with the country’s Islamic State affiliate for several years. At least 235 people were killed in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula after militants detonated a bomb and shot at worshipers in a mosque on Nov. 24. Egyptian security forces have been locked in battle with the militants since 2011, when the group — then known then as Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis — initially trained its firepower on Israel. Since the militants’ 2014 pledge of allegience to the Islamic State, the government has worked to keep its war with extremists in the shadows.

Source: Washington Post November 25, 2017 10:43 UTC