Military says it killed 7 terrorists after Arish attack

The Egyptian military has killed seven “takfiri terrorists” in the North Sinai town of Sheikh Zuwayed, it announced via its Facebook page today.

According to the statement, the military did this “in continuation with the Armed Forces’ efforts to eliminate the roots of terrorists. The Armed Forces confirms its continued joint security operations to eliminate terrorists whatever sacrifices it costs.”

The announcement comes three days after seven civilians and one soldier were killed in two separate attacks in North Sinai late on Sunday.

Seven people were killed and 25 injured in Arish in a mortar attack that targeted a marketplace in the North Sinai capital. Mortars also targeted a military post, killing one solider and injuring three others.

Egyptian media have been reporting that Ansar Beit al-Maqdes, a militant group with connections to North Sinai, claimed responsibility for the attack.

Privately owned newspaper, Al-Masry Al-Youm, for example, quoted today the group’s alleged Twitter account. It doesn’t give the Twitter handle, but quotes an apology by the group for missing its target, the security apparatus, and killing civilians.

A search on Twitter matches the quote with the account handle @islamic_s_egypt. However, in their last written statement in May, Ansar Beit al-Maqdes said it has no official or unofficial social networking accounts.

Zack Gold, an adjunct fellow at the American Security Project, a public policy organization in Washington DC, told Mada Masr: “Considering Ansar Beit al-Maqdes' operations and the importance it holds to avoid civilian casualties for PR purposes, I would be very surprised if Ansar Beit al-Maqdes claims responsibility for an attack that killed seven civilians -- even if it was ultimately behind the attack.”

There has been a rise in Islamic militant activity across Egypt, and particularly in North Sinai, targeting security forces over the last year, since the miitary's ouster of  former Islamist president Mohamed Morsi.

Ansar Beit al-Maqdes has been the most active group claiming responsibility for such attacks, though there other groups that are increasingly doing so too, such as Ajnad Misr (Soldiers of Egypt). The Cairo Court of Urgent Matters has declared both groups terrorist organizations.