Key Highlights
- Egyptian government soldiers have carried out series of military operations killing nearly a dozen Takfiri militants in violence plagued Sinai Peninsula.
- On Friday 21st August 2015, the forces launched offensives against the militants in the town of Sheikh Zuweid which is located 334 kilometers northeast of Egypt’s capital Cairo. Another offensive launched from the city of el-Arish which is about 344 kilometers northeast of the capital and from the border town of Rafah situated about 340 kilometers east of Cairo.
- 10 militants were killed from the operations while 11 others were captured.
- The militants have also targeted Egyptian police, on August 9,2015, a conscript and a police captain lost their lives when a roadside bomb explosion ripped through their vehicle in el-Arish. Another three were left with injuries in the terror act.
- Militants are employing improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in the attacks detonated by remote control when a police vehicle is passing by.
- In another yet act of terror earlier this month, a high ranking commander of Velayat Sinai militants which previously was known as Bait al-Maqdis was killed during a fierce encounter with Egyptian army troops in Sheikh Zuweid town.
- The militant commander identified as Selim Suleiman al-Haram was killed when he refused to surrender to the soldiers who had surrounded his house.
Summary
Egyptian security forces views the Sinai Peninsula as fertile sanctuary for violent extremists who use the volatile region as safe haven for hiding and planning of attacks.
Velayat Sinai terrorists are known to be responsible for a series of attacks in the Sinai Peninsula. The militant group in November 2014 pledged allegiance to the Daesh terrorist group (Islamic State), a militant group known for brutal acts of decapitations and crucifixions. Daesh is primarily wreaking havoc in Iraq and in the neighbouring Syria.
