Jihadist Attacks in Egypt and Nigeria leave dozens dead.
Eleven Egyptian soldiers were killed on Saturday attempting to prevent a "terrorist" attack on the Suez Canal zone abutting the Sinai peninsula, a hotbed of jihadist activity, the army said.
The death toll is one of the highest recorded by Egyptian forces in years in Egypt.
According to the military statement, "A group of takfiris launched an attack on a military water pumping station.”
The soldiers "repelled them and fighting ensued in which eleven soldiers were killed and five wounded," the statement said.
The soldiers "continue to pursue the terrorists" to "a remote area of Sinai", according to the same source.
The term "takfiris" is generally used to refer to Sunni jihadist or radical Islamist groups.
President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi said on Facebook that "these terrorist operations will not overcome the determination of the country and its army to cut the evil of terrorism at its roots".
Washington condemned a "terrorist attack". "For decades, the United States has been and remains a strong partner with Egypt in the fight against terrorism in the region," State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement.
The army and police launched a major "counter-terrorism" operation in February 2018 in the Sinai Peninsula, where radical cells, some of which have pledged allegiance to the jihadist
Meanwhile in West Africa:
Gunmen in Nigeria killed at least 48 people in attacks on three villages in northwest Zamfara state.
The attacks took place last Friday and were reported by a local official and residents on Sunday.
The village of Damri was the worst hit. The gunmen killed 32 people including two security personnel.
According to Aminu Suleiman, administrative head of the Bakura district, the attacks were coordinated.
In early January, gunmen killed more than 200 people in Zamfara state.
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has called on the security forces to redouble their efforts to put an end to the killings.
The violence has forced thousands to flee to neighbouring Niger, with over 11,000 seeking refuge last November, according to the United Nations.
Northwest and central Nigeria have been terrorised for years by criminal gangs who raid and loot villages, steal cattle and carry out mass abductions of residents for ransom.
Now, let's move into Ukraine.
