An Egyptian lieutenant colonel was killed and three soldiers were injured in an explosion that targeted their armoured personnel carrier (APC) in North Sinai, on Sunday, Reuters reported.
The APC was implementing a security mission in Al-Hasana when it was targeted by militants affiliated to the Province of Sinai group, the Egyptian branch of the Islamic State.
A security source told Reuters that the three soldiers were brought to the military hospital in Suez, eastern Cairo.
The Egyptian military and security forces, as well as some Sinai tribes, have been battling in North Sinai for nearly four years against extremist militants affiliated with the so-called Islamic State group.
The group 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.
In the last period, Sinai tribes have been getting increasingly involved in the military confrontation with the militants, leaving deaths on both sides.
In a different context, the official spokesperson of the Egyptian army Tamer El-Refaay released an official statement on Monday on the efforts exerted by the border guard forces in securing Egypt’s borders since May 2017.
The statement published on Facebook asserted that the efforts included the discovery of smuggling tunnels on the borders in North Sinai and targeting drug dealers.
Moreover, the statement noted that in the context of the Western Military Region located near the north-western part of the country in Marsa Matrouh governorate, dozens of drug parcels were seized. Additionally, an attempt of illegal immigration was foiled when forces managed to arrest 351 individuals from different nationalities.
