Five Egyptian Security Forces Killed in Sinai
CAIRO (Dispatches) – At least five Egyptian military personnel were killed in a militant attack on Wednesday in northern Sinai, two security sources said, the second deadly strike against security forces on the peninsula in less than a week.
Four others were injured when armed men opened fire at a security post in the coastal area of northeastern Sinai, which borders the Gaza Strip, the sources said.
There was no immediate comment from Egyptian authorities.
The deaths follow a May 7 ambush at a checkpoint in Sinai that killed 11 Egyptian soldiers and was claimed by Daesh terrorists, one of the deadliest attacks in recent years.
Egypt expanded security control over populated coastal areas of northern Sinai since a major counter-insurgency operation was launched in 2018, but sporadic attacks by militants linked to Daesh have continued.
News of Wednesday’s attack came as President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi met U.S. national security advisor Jake Sullivan in Cairo.
The Egyptian presidency said the two had discussed the strategic partnership between Egypt and the United States, which is a major provider of military aid to Cairo.
Zionist Tourists Detained
Meanwhile, two Zionists have been arrested in on Friday, after filming themselves waving the occupying regime’s flags for a video on social media, according to reports.
Egyptian security saw the flag waving as a provocation and arrested the Zionists, the occupying regime’s Channel 12 reported.
A source close to the two Zionists, a man and a woman in their 20s, said local police claimed the act was a challenge to Egypt’s sovereignty over the Sinai, according to a report.
The Zionists were detained for two days, during which they received assistance from the occupying regime’s embassy and the foreign ministry until they were released and returned to the occupied territories, the report said.
The Egyptian Revolutionary Council (ERC) has slammed al-Sisi’s approach of “letting Zionists into Sinai without a visa.”
“How many times have our soldiers been betrayed since the Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi took office,” ERC said on Twitter.