A grenade attack on a military checkpoint in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula Monday left one soldier dead and two others injured, as insurgents sought to push back against an ongoing, widespread campaign by the army to uproot jihadist infrastructure in the increasingly anarchic territory.

Scores of security officials have been killed in recent clashes across Egypt, with jihadists targeting both the army and institutions of the interim army-backed government:

Sinai has been a stage for recurrent attacks on police and army units since the overthrow of deposed President Mohamed Morsy early July. Muslim Brotherhood critics accuse the group of orchestrating the attacks to avenge the removal of Morsy.

Leaders of the mass movement that called for the removal of Egypt’s former president Mohammed Morsi have been targeted for assassination, as have government officials:

Mahmoud Badr, the founder of Tamarod, the Egyptian youth movement that rallied street protests against ousted President Mohammad Mursi, survived assassination attempt on Monday, Al Arabiya’s correspondent reported from Cairo.

The military’s efforts to dampen the violence have long enjoyed widespread popular backing, and a Wall Street Journal article published this morning outlined “a movement to nominate Gen. Abdel Fattah Al Sisi as Egypt’s next president is gaining pace” as a signal of “Egyptians’ yearning for stability and order.”

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