CAIRO: Egyptian security forces have killed 15 suspected militants in a shootout in restive north Sinai, the interior ministry said Sunday.
A militant group was “planning hostile acts targeting military and police forces...in order to destabilize national security,” the ministry said in a statement.
It did not name a specific group, but said “terrorist elements” had been hiding in a farm in El-Arish, the capital of North Sinai province.
When forces approached, “the militants shot live rounds forcing troops to deal with them (and) leading to 15 deaths.”
Graphic pictures of the bodies of the alleged militants were sent along with the Sunday press release.
Authorities also said they found a small trove of stashed weapons including an explosive belt, several rifles and an explosive device.
The ministry did not specify when the reported shootout took place, but Sunday’s announcement follows recent military operations in Sinai that authorities say killed 118 suspected militants.
Nine soldiers were killed and one wounded in those “counter-terrorism” operations, a military statement said on Friday.
President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi paid tribute to the dead personnel in a series of tweets late Friday, describing “terrorism” as a “cancer still trying to kidnap the nation.”
In February 2018, Egypt’s military launched a nationwide offensive against extremist militants, focused mainly on North Sinai, where Daesh still has a significant presence.
Some 665 suspected militants and around 60 soldiers have been killed since, according to official figures.
Egypt kills 15 militants in North Sinai shootout: ministry
Egypt kills 15 militants in North Sinai shootout: ministry
- An Interior Ministry statement said security forces exchanged fire with the militants
- Egypt has battled an insurgency led by a Daesh affiliate for years in the Sinai Peninsula
Arab and Islamic states reject Israel’s recognition of Somaliland
- Israel formally recognized Somaliland as an “independent and sovereign state” on Friday
- Saudi Arabia on Friday expressed full support for sovereignty, unity, territorial integrity of Somalia
A group of foreign ministers from Arab and Islamic countries, alongside the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), have firmly rejected Israel’s announcement of its recognition of the Somaliland region within Somalia.
In a joint statement issued on Saturday, the ministers condemned Israel’s decision, announced on December 26, warning that the move carries “serious repercussions for peace and security in the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea region” and undermines international peace and security, the Jordan News Agency reported.
The statement described the recognition as an unprecedented and flagrant violation of international law and the charter of the United Nations, which uphold the principles of state sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity, JNA added.
Israel formally recognized Somaliland as an “independent and sovereign state” and signed an agreement to establish diplomatic ties, as the region’s leader hailed its first-ever official recognition.
The ministers reaffirmed their full support for the sovereignty of Somalia, rejecting any measures that would undermine its unity or territorial integrity.
They warned that recognizing the independence of parts of states sets a dangerous precedent and poses a direct threat to international peace and security.
The statement also reiterated categorical opposition to any attempt to link the move with plans to displace the Palestinian people outside their land, stressing that such proposals are rejected “in form and substance.”
Alongside the Jordanian foreign ministry, the joint statement was issued by the foreign ministers of Egypt, Algeria, Comoros, Djibouti, The Gambia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Maldives, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Qatar, Somalia, Sudan, Turkiye and Yemen, as well as the OIC.
Saudi Arabia on Friday expressed full support for the sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity of Somalia, and expressed its rejection of the declaration of mutual recognition between Israel and Somaliland.
