Egyptian tank runs over explosive-laden vehicle

Despite the tank’s heroic measures, seven civilians were killed during the incident which occurred at a military checkpoint located to the south of al-Arish in North Sinai on Monday.
 
“When an Egyptian soldier used a tank to stop the vehicle three men, two women and two children happened to be in the area in front of the ambush during the blast," said a statement released by the army.
 
According to the Egyptian military, the 4x4 vehicle was carrying five militants and around 100 kilograms of explosives when the tank successfully halted its progress.
 
The Sinai Peninsula has been under a state of emergency since October 2014, after a deadly terrorist attack left 33 Egyptian soldiers dead.
 
Over the past years, militants have been carrying out anti-government activities and fatal attacks, taking advantage of the turmoil caused in Egypt after the democratically-elected president, Mohamed Morsi, was ousted in a military-led coup in July 2013.
 
The Velayat Sinai militant group, which is an affiliate of Daesh, has claimed responsibility for most of the assaults, mainly targeting the army and police.