Eight security personnel and five terrorist elements were reportedly killed in the terrorist attack on security checkpoints in North Sinai’s Al-Arish on the first day of Eid Al-Fitr celebration on Wednesday, the Ministry of Interior announced.
Egypt has been battling several armed groups, concentrated mainly in the Sinai Peninsula, since the ouster of Islamist former President Mohamed Morsi in July 2013. Since then, shootings that targeted security personnel and state officials have become a frequent occurrence in Egypt.
In May, Libya has extradited top convicted militant Hisham Al-Ashmawi to Egypt, in what the President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi called “A salute and appreciation to Egypt’s brave men who have always acted as hawks against all those who thought that they can terrorise the Egyptians.”
Al-Ashmawi is considered extremely dangerous, as he is a former special forces officer, and was one of Egypt’s most wanted jihadists, as he formed the Al-Murabiteen group, which was reportedly a cell formed within the currently operating Sinai Province militant group.
Eight security personnel, five terrorists killed in Al-Arish attack: Ministry of Interior
Mohamed Samir Khedr is an economic and political journalist, analyst, and editor specializing in geopolitical conflicts in the Middle East, Africa, and the Eastern Mediterranean. For the past decade, he has covered Egypt's and the MENA region's financial, business, and geopolitical updates. Currently, he is the Executive Editor of the Daily News Egypt, where he leads a team of journalists in producing high-quality, in-depth reporting and analysis on the region's most pressing issues. His work has been featured in leading international publications. Samir is a highly respected expert on the Middle East and Africa, and his insights are regularly sought by policymakers, academics, and business leaders. He is a passionate advocate for independent journalism and a strong believer in the power of storytelling to inform and inspire. Twitter: https://twitter.com/Moh_S_Khedr
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