15 executed after being convicted of killing security forces in North Sinai

Fifteen detainees were executed by Egyptian authorities on Tuesday, less than two months after being convicted of killing security forces in North Sinai, security sources confirmed to Reuters.

The 15 individuals were executed by Interior Ministry officials in their places of detention in Wadi al-Natrun Prison, located halfway between Cairo and Alexandria, and Borg al-Arab Prison in Alexandria.

The case was tried by the Supreme Military Court of Appeals, which sentenced the 15 people to death on November 13.

Those executed were convicted of the murder of nine Armed Forces personnel in the Safa checkpoint in North Sinai in 2013, the attempted murder of security forces in Arish, illegally surveilling the movements of the military personnel in North Sinai and the possession of explosives, among other charges.

During the opening ceremony of a national project in Ismailia, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi threatened to "respond to terrorists groups with brute force" on Saturday. These remarks came following an armed militant attack on the Arish military airport during a visit by the defense and interior ministers on December 19. The Islamic State-affiliated militant group Province of Sinai later claimed responsibility for the attack and published a video of its execution.

At least 41 people were sentenced to death in October and 21 others faced preliminary death sentences, according to a report by the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights. At least 17 others were sentenced to death in November.