Security forces find kidnapped officer in Sharqiya

Security forces located a police officer kidnapped by an armed group in Sharqiya on Sunday morning, but have yet to apprehend the perpetrators, Sharqiya Security Head Sameh al-Kilany told state-owned Al-Ahram gate. 

Kilany added that the officer was found on the same road where he was kidnapped earlier this morning, and sustained superficial wounds, allegedly caused by beatings.

According to Al-Ahram, masked men stopped the car of Captain Mohamed Haroun, a police officer who serves in the 10th of Ramadan City station, by firing gun shots in his direction, before kidnapping him and taking him to an unknown location.

Police forces found the officer’s car deserted in al-Tayara Square in Bilbeis City with bullet holes in it.

Security sources said that the officer was on a visit to his family in Bilbeis when the kidnapping took place. Police have yet to determine whether the incident was criminal or political in nature.

Police announced a state of emergency in Sharqiya and created several check points in 10th of Ramadan and Bilbeis cities in an effort to intercept the kidnappers.

Attacks on police stations have become regular occurrences in Egypt in recent months, with the targeting of police officers especially prevalent in Sharqiya.

In February, Officer Mohamed Eid Abdel Salam, who handled cases of religious extremism in the National Security office, was assassinated in front of his house in Sharqiya. Days before, another police officer was killed in an attack on a police van that also took place in the governorate.

During an executive council meeting in April, Kilany discussed the security situation in Sharqiya, stating that the number of terrorist attacks taking place in recent months are unprecedented. He complained that security forces in the governorate are coming under extreme attack in the media for failing to prevent these incidents, despite intensive efforts to do so.

Kilany revealed that security forces in Sharqiya have uncovered 18 terrorist groups in the last few months. He added that the main group responsible for attacks on police and military forces in the governorate are associated with Ansar Beit al-Maqdes, a Sinai-based militant organization that has claimed responsibility for a number of major terrorist attacks in Egypt, including the bombing of the Cairo Security Directorate in January and an attempted assassination of the minister of interior in October.