A jihadist group affiliated with ISIS has claimed responsibility for Thursday's "guided missile" attack against an Egyptian navy vessel in the Mediterranean Sea off Sinai province.
The naval petrol boat, which was floating off the coast of Rafat town, was hit with two guided missiles on Thursday, according to ARA News. The Islamic State group's media office in "Sinai State" said the Egyptian navy frigate was completely destroyed and its crew were killed.
The Sinai-based extremist outfit also posted pictures of the attack on its Twitter accounts, reported the BBC. The pictures, released by SITE Intelligence, show a missile hit a navy frigate, setting it ablaze.
"We were sitting on the beach and suddenly there was an explosion," said Ahmed Nofal, who witnessed the incident, according to Russia Today. If officially confirmed, it will be Islamic State's first maritime attack.
Egyptian military confirmed the missile attack, saying that a coastguard ship caught fire after gun battle with militants. Officials said there were no casualties in the attack.
The Islamic State group, referred as ISIS/ISIL and Daesh in Arabic, also claimed responsibility for a recent attack on Italian consulate in Cairo. One person killed and several others were injured when a car exploded near the consulate a few days ago, HNGN reported previously.
The Egyptian military said on Wednesday it foiled a suicide car bomb attack on an army post between Cairo and Suez, according to Times of Israel.
The northern Sinai province has witnessed series of violent clashes between local ISIS affiliates and military since President Mohamed Morsi's removal in 2013.
