30 militants killed in a military operation in North Sinai

Thirty militants were killed and five apprehended in North Sinai, the Armed Forces spokesperson said in a press release on Friday, claiming that they also destroyed 12 of the militants’ vehicles and four weaponry warehouses.

This took place as part of the Martyrs’ Right military operation conducted by the Armed Forces and the Air Force. The military and the police have enforced a blockade on militant strongholds in the cities of Arish, Rafah and Sheikh Zuwayed for the fourth consecutive day, said the release.

The military spokesperson Facebook page also published a video showing the attack and the killing of one militant armed with what they claim to be an RBJ.

Earlier this month, the Armed Forces faced one of the deadliest attacks in years when dozens of militants targeted a checkpoint, reportedly killing at least 23 soldiers and injuring dozens of others. The attack was carried out on 7 July and was later claimed by the Islamic State. The military said it had thwarted another attack by carrying out airstrikes that killed at least 40 militants, according to a statement by the Armed Forces spokesperson.

North Sinai has seen an increase in militant attacks targeting both police and Armed Forces since the ouster of former President Mohamed Morsi in 2013, many of which have been claimed by the Islamic State and its affiliate the Province of Sinai.

The largest-scale attack took place in mid-2015, when the Province of Sinai targeted several military sites and checkpoints in the North Sinai cities of Sheikh Zuwayed and Rafah. At least 17 soldiers and an estimated 100 militants were killed in the attacks and ensuing violence, according to the military, while other sources claimed a much higher death toll.