Army forces stop naval attack in North Sinai
In a different context, a senior militant in Ansr Bayt AlMaqdis group was killed
Five cars, two hideouts, and one boat were destroyed in a campaign by army forces in North Sinai on Wednesday, according to a statement by the military spokesperson.
The boat was allegedly attempting to pass into the Egyptian coast,but the forces destroyed and killed whoever was on it, the statement added.
The operation, which was headed by the Second Army, also destroyed two storage rooms that were allegedly used to manufacture explosives.
In a similar context, the Ministry of Interior announced on Tuesday that it killed a senior militant in the Ansr Bayt Al-Maqdis group.
The statement said that the militant, whose nick name is Ghanadr Al-Masry, had participated in several attacks against army and police personnel. During the raid, which took place in an unpopulated area in Al-Arish,Al-Masry was killed,while another suspect managed to escape.
Al-Masry reportedly was responsible for recruitment in the militant group.
Ansr Bayt Al-Maqdis became active against the police and army since 2013, after the ouster of former Islamic President Mohamed Morsi.
Also on Tuesday night, local media reported that a conscript from the Central Security Forces was killed on the boarders between Egypt and Israel, after he was shot by smugglers.
No official body has released a statement on the incident as of yet.
On Monday, four soldiers were killed in Al-Arish after being targeted by an improvised explosive device (IED) and gunfire that hit their convoy, according to state media.The soldiers were killed when their convoy, which had been deployed in Al-Shael Street in a suburb of Al-Arish, was attacked by militants.
In another attack, an armoured personnel carrier was targeted, resulting in the injury of three soldiers.
Since 2013, state security forces, represented by both the army and the police, have been engaged in violent clashes with “Sinai Province”, a group previously known as Ansar Beit AlMaqdis. In 2014, the group declared its affiliation with IS and has launched deadly attacks on army and police checkpoints.
Over the last two years, the Egyptian armed forces have launched counterattacks against the militants’ stationing points across the Sinai Peninsula, where the group is based in the cities of Sheikh Zuweid, Rafah, and Al-Arish.
A state of emergency was first declared in North Sinai by interim president Adly Mansour, who came into power following ousted president Mohamed Morsi.It has been extended following this year’s extremist attacks on Coptic churches on Palm Sunday.