Police captain killed in failed assassination attempt on CSF head south of Arish

A police captain was killed in an explosion targeting a vehicle carrying the head of Sinai’s Central Security Forces (CSF), as it drove along the ring road in the south of Arish on Friday morning.

Nasser al-Hosseiny, the CSF head in Sinai, survived the attack, which is the second attempt on his life.

A medical source and a security source confirmed to Mada Masr that the attack — which took place shortly after midnight last night as the security convoy was passing through the Safa checkpoint — killed Captain Abdel Meguid al-Mahy immediately.

The sources confirmed that Hosseiny sustained severe injuries and brain hemorrhaging. He was taken to the military hospital in Arish before being transported to Cairo.

A resident of south Airsh who lives on the outskirts of the city confirmed to Mada Masr that he heard a strong explosion near his residence, followed by heavy fire for 20 minutes.

The first attempt to assassinate Hosseiny came in November 2017 when an explosion targeted the vehicle he was in on Arish’s main road. No one was killed or injured as a result.

The military spokesperson announced on Thursday that 19 militants were killed in an exchange of fire with police and military forces in several areas in North Sinai.

Last night’s attack follows a period of relative calm in North Sinai that started following the presidential elections in late March.

The military launched Operation Sinai 2018 on February 9 “to eradicate terrorism” in the peninsula, an onslaught that has left large parts under siege, particularly south Arish neighborhoods that overlook the Ring Road, including al-Safa where the attack took place. Homes have been thoroughly searched and phones and other devices confiscated by security forces since the start of the operation. Tens of residents have been arrested, of whom some were released after interrogation.