The flag of the ISIS terrorist group. Image: Reuters/Alaa Al-Marjani/File Photo.

JNS.org – Islamic State in the Sinai Peninsula has claimed responsibility for a deadly attack the previous day that killed 11 members of the Egyptian security forces, the United Arab Emirates-based The National reported on Monday.

According to the report, the jihadist organization released a statement on its Amaq news agency and on Telegram.

The Egyptian military said five other soldiers had been injured in the attack, one of the deadliest in Sinai in recent years.

Terrorists opened fire on soldiers at a checkpoint protecting a water-pumping center in Qantara, in the Sinai province of Ismailia, before fleeing the scene, the report said.

Thousands reportedly attended separate funerals for the casualties in Egypt on Sunday.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi held a meeting of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces on the day after the attack, discussing the incident and its consequences with senior military figures.

On April 27, an Israeli security research center said attacks by ISIS have spiked in its areas of activities around the world, including in the Sinai Peninsula, where the Egyptian armed forces have spent years battling the terror organization.