Armed forces affiliated to the second field army on Sunday morning managed to kill five militants in an operation that took place in North Sinai. The killed militants included a leading figure of ”Sinai Province,” the army spokesperson said in a statement.
The sweeping operation also resulted in the arrest of 16 suspected militants and the destruction of a vehicle used by the militants in their attacks against police and army stationing points, the statement added.
“During the second field army’s operation, the forces assigned to eliminate militants in North Sinai found a gun and detonated two improvised explosive devices (IEDs) that had been prepared to be used in attacks,” the statement read.
Meanwhile, the southern part of Al-Arish in North Sinai witnessed an IED explosion, targeting an armoured police vehicle in the region of “Al Hasna” near central Sinai. The explosion led to the death of three police conscripts and the injury of a further six conscripts.
According to local media reports, the injured and killed police conscripts have been transferred to Al-Arish Military Hospital, where the injured conscripts are currently receiving treatment.
Since 2013, state security forces, represented by both the army and the police, have been engaged in violent clashes with Sinai Province, known previously 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 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.
