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 government foils Daesh plot to attack churches and New Year celebrations
- Bomber kills soldier in Aleppo, detonates explosives injuring 2 others
ALEPPO, DAMASCUS: The Syrian Interior Ministry announced on Thursday that it had thwarted a Daesh plot to carry out suicide attacks targeting New Year celebrations and churches, particularly in Aleppo.
The ministry said in a statement that, as part of ongoing counterterrorism efforts and careful monitoring of Daesh cells in cooperation with partner agencies, it had received intelligence indicating plans for suicide attacks targeting New Year celebrations in several provinces, particularly Aleppo, with a focus on churches and civilian gathering areas.
The ministry added that it took preemptive measures, including reinforcing security around churches, deploying mobile and fixed patrols, and setting up checkpoints across the city.
During operations at a checkpoint in Aleppo’s Bab Al-Faraj district, security forces intercepted a suspected Daesh member who opened fire. One internal security soldier was killed, and the attacker detonated explosives, injuring two others.
Daesh recently increased its attacks in Syria, and was blamed for an attack last month in Palmyra that killed three Americans.
On Dec. 13, two US soldiers and an American civilian were killed in an attack Washington blamed on a lone Daesh gunman in Palmyra.
In retaliation, American forces struck scores of Daesh targets in Syria.
Syrian authorities have also carried out several operations against Daesh since then, saying on Dec. 25 they had killed a senior leader of the group.
