President Abdel-Fatteh El-Sisi made a clean sweep of his top security officials after a string of lethal attacks conducted by ISIL killed over a hundred security personnel in a period of a month. El Sisi announced on April 12th, 2015 that he has reshuffled the top leadership of the navy, military intelligence and the beleaguered Second Field Army command which is responsible for the Suez Canal and the Suez region.
Recently, Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis – the Egyptian branch of ISIS – conducted two deadly attacks which left over a dozen security personnel dead and over 50 others injured. The Sinai-based Sunni jihadists have been able to exact a heavy toll on the Egyptian military despite the reinforcements it has received. More critical is the fact that the jihadists have been able to overrun several military outposts and captured weapons besides expelling Egyptian troops from several areas in the region. On April 2nd 2015, Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis attacked a military base in El-Arish and killed over 15 soldiers as well as abducted several others. The military base was destroyed by the jihadists.
Regarding the reshuffle, the head of Military intelligence, Maj. Gen. Salah El-Badry was sacked and replaced by General Mohamed al-Shahat – who served as the commander of the Second Field Army. Gen. Nasser al-Assi takes over as the commander of the Second Field Army. In another significant reshuffle, Rear Admiral Osama Mounir has replaced Rear Admiral Osama El-Gendy as the navy commander.
