A veterinary doctor was assassinated on Sunday evening at the hands of anonymous militants, who shot him while leaving his private clinic in Al-Obour suburb in North Sinai’s city of Al-Arish, state-run newspaper Al-Ahram reported.
According to the newspaper, the killed veterinary doctor is a Coptic resident of Al-Arish and was subjected to heavy shooting from anonymous militants directly after he left the clinic.
“The Coptic veterinary doctor was killed by the militants of the IS-affiliated group of ‘Sinai Province’, as they have recently targeted the city’s Coptic residents. His name is Bahgat William Zakhar,” a North-Sinai-based journalist told Daily News Egypt Monday on condition of anonymity.
Similarly, on Saturday evening, anonymous militants killed a 55-year old civilian in Al-Arish as he attempted to stop the kidnapping of his son, who was taken by the militants following the shooting, state-run newspaper Akhbar Al-Youm reported.
According to Akhbar Al-Youm, the kidnapping took place in front of pedestrians, and the son was taken to an unknown place. Meanwhile, the killed father was transferred to the nearest hospital.
Residents of North Sinai’s cities of Al-Arish, Sheikh Zuweid, and Rafah are regularly being subjected to numerous kidnappings and killings carried out by the militants affiliated to the “Sinai Province” group. Many residents, suspected to be army and security operators by militants, are affected.
Since 2013, state security forces, represented by both the army and the police, have been engaged in violent clashes with “Sinai Province”, previously known as Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis. In 2014, the group declared its affiliation to IS and has launched deadly attacks on army and police checkpoints.
Over the course of the last two years, the Egyptian armed forces have launched counterattacks against militant stationing points across the Sinai Peninsula where the group is based, particularly in the cities of Sheikh Zuweid, Rafah, and Al-Arish.
