ISIL (ISIS) has claimed responsibility for an incident in the Sinai Peninsula on Saturday that killed 11 Egyptian soldiers.

According to the Egyptian military, at least five other troops were wounded in the attack on Saturday.

It was the Egyptian army’s deadliest day in years in its long-running campaign in and around the Sinai Peninsula against militants loyal to the terrorist group.

The raid occurred in Qantara, in the Ismailia region, which spans eastwards from the Suez Canal.

Fighters attacked troops stationed at a checkpoint monitoring the pumping station before fleeing the area.

The terrorists were being pursued by forces in an isolated area of the northern Sinai Peninsula, according to the military.

“[ISIL] fighters killed Egyptian soldiers, seized their weapons and burned down their position in West Sinai,” the group said on its Amaq propaganda internet site on Sunday.

Washington condemned the “terrorist attack in the Sinai targeting members of the Egyptian military.”

It expressed its condolences to the victims’ families.

France, the African Union, and Sudan also denounced the assault.