[3][4][5] Militant groups such as Ansar Bait al-Maqdis have ramped up an anti-military campaign that involves bombings and shootings in Egypt since the 2013 coup d'état which saw the removal of President Mohamed Morsi, followed by a violent crackdown on his supporters.

[3][7] The perpetrators of the second attack were initially described as smugglers by security officials interviewed by Reuters, who said that they are being paid by their militant comrades in Egypt to ship them weapons from Libya,[8] a country plagued by instability following the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that toppled Muammar Gaddafi.

[6] The checkpoint, situated on the Farafra Oasis Road near the borders with Libya,[7] was attacked by 20 gunmen, initially described as smugglers, in weapon-mounted vehicles with machine guns as well as rocket-propelled grenades that were used to blow up an ammunitions storage.

[10] The assault was also condemned by Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab, the country's Grand Mufti Shawki Allam, Al-Azhar, the Coptic Orthodox Church, as well as the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights.

[10][16] The Dostour Party rejected it as a "cowardly criminal attack on soldiers carrying out their duty" and offered condolences to families of the slain officers and called on the government to arrest the perpetrators.