Military commander of Bir al-Abd, 4 others killed in Sinai

Five people were killed in three separate attacks in Sinai on Thursday, a security source told Mada Masr, while the Armed Forces spokesperson announced that six people were killed when an explosive device detonated near a military-owned vehicle.

According to the military’s statement, published Thursday evening, one officer and five enlisted officers were killed “during a raid on a terrorist den.”

A military officer and Lieutenant Colonel Ahmed al-Kafrawy, the military commander of North Sinai’s Bir al-Abd, were killed by armed militants on Thursday evening, a security source told Mada Masr.

In a separate attack in central Sinai, an enlisted military officer was killed after a military unit, Battalion 103, was targeted.

Meanwhile, an enlisted police officer and a citizen were killed, and another enlisted police officer injured in an attack that targeted the Egyptian Arab Land Bank (EALB) in Arish, North Sinai’s capital city.

The attack on Kafrawy took place west of Arish and was carried out by militants driving a Hummer, according to the security source. The militants targeted the Armed Forces’ vehicle using an IED that was thrown from a distance, after which they shot at the vehicle. Six officers were injured in the attack.

Earlier on Thursday, armed militants had targeted Battalion 103 in the Gifgafa area in central Sinai using mortar shells, killing one enlisted military officer and injuring two others, according to a security source. They were all transferred to the Qassaseen Military Hospital in Ismailia.

Eyewitnesses told Mada Masr that armed militants attacked the EALB with RPGs, targeting the armored vehicle stationed in front of the bank, which resulted in an explosion. Militants reportedly approached the bank, located on July 23 Street, in the heart of Arish, through a nearby street. They engaged in a brief shootout with security forces before retreating to Karam Abu Negeila neighborhood.

While the two officers were transferred to the Arish Military Hospital, the body of the security guard who was killed was transferred to the Arish General Hospital.

Meanwhile, eyewitnesses said another group of militants engaged in a shootout with backup forces near the fire station in Um al-Qurra, before withdrawing from area.