One army officer and four soldiers were killed after an attack at 10.30am Monday by “terrorist elements” on the Salheya road in Sharqeya, according to the military spokesman’s office.
The office confirmed the attack, clarifying that a “black vehicle carrying an unidentified number of individuals shot automatic weapons at the military vehicle” adding that “all individuals inside the [military] vehicle died immediately.”
The military personnel were on patrol on Road 36 near the city of Abu-Sowayer in Ismailia. The Salheya road is a road between Sharqeya and Ismailia.
The army added that the “area is currently under heavy security and is being swept to capture the perpetrators.”
A car bomb also went off in the vicinity of the South Sinai police directorate early Monday morning. According to General Mohamed Shams, commander of the Suez Canal Security Troops, “the explosion led to the death of three policemen guarding the perimeter walls, injuring 48 around the directorate, including a police general” as well as the destruction of four vehicles.
Following the incident, 40 ambulances arrived in the area, and “the entrances and exits of the Ahmad Hamdi tunnel leading to Sinai were secured and security was tightened in the area.”
Another attack in Cairo’s Maadi neighbourhood occurred at approximately 6.30am Monday after armed assailants opened fire on the satellite building. No causalities were reported.
The military spokesman’s office added that the attacks were not related and were not “planned simultaneously.”
The attacks come after the national holiday of the 6th of October, where rival protests saw intense clashes causing 51 deaths.
