EL-ARISH, Egypt: A roadside bomb planted by militants in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula hit a military vehicle on Thursday, killing six people, including a senior army officer, security and hospital officials said.
They said the bomb struck a military convoy that was patrolling an area just outside the town of Bir Al-Abd in northern Sinai, killing a colonel who was the town’s military commander, a second officer and four soldiers.
Three more soldiers were wounded in the attack, they said.
Bir Al-Abd was the scene of the deadliest terrorist attack against civilians in Egypt’s modern history, when militants killed 311 worshippers in a mosque on Nov. 24.
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi has since vowed to use “brute force” to crush the long-running insurgency in northern Sinai and given the military and police three months to restore “security and stability” there.
In a separate attack, a rocket-propelled grenade hit a police armored vehicle in central el-Arish, a coastal city in northern Sinai, killing one conscript. A firefight later erupted between the police and militants, and a civilian driving in the area was caught in the crossfire and killed, said the officials. Three militants were killed in the gunbattle, they added.
Egyptian security forces have been battling militants in Sinai for years, but the insurgency picked up steam following the ouster in 2013 of an elected Islamist president whose one year in office proved divisive. The insurgency is led by a local affiliate of the extremist Daesh group.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media.
Roadside bomb kills 6, including army colonel, in Egypt’s Sinai
Roadside bomb kills 6, including army colonel, in Egypt’s Sinai
Syrian and Lebanese presidents discuss border security after Hezbollah strikes hit west Damascus
- Ahmad Al-Sharaa expresses Syria’s absolute support for Lebanese government’s efforts to disarm the Iran-backed militant group
LONDON: The Syrian president, Ahmad Al-Sharaa, and his Lebanese counterpart, Joseph Aoun, discussed border security on Tuesday.
It came as Syria accused the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah of massing reinforcements close to the border, targeting army positions in Syria, and launching artillery shells from Lebanese territory that landed near the town of Serghaya, west of the capital Damascus.
During his conversation with Aoun, Al-Sharaa expressed his absolute support for the Lebanese government’s efforts to disarm Hezbollah, the Syrian Arab News Agency reported. Depriving the group of its weapons was a crucial step in efforts to strengthen the sovereignty of Lebanon and protect the region from the consequences of ongoing armed conflicts, he added.
The two leaders also emphasized the need for joint action to ensure the safety of the Syrian people.
Thousands of Syrians who fled to Lebanon to escape the 13-year civil war in their country have returned home since the US and Israel launched strikes against Iran on Feb. 28, and the spread of the conflict to other parts of the Middle East.
Israel has launched strikes against Israel and several Arab countries in the region, while Hezbollah, an ally of Tehran which the UK and other nations consider a terrorist organization, has also fired into Israel.
Israeli forces have hit back against Hezbollah with strikes on southern Lebanon and southern Beirut, and its forces have occupied key areas south of the Litani River.
