Sinai roundup: MOI kills 8 militants in Arish, Province of Sinai executes 17-year-old alleged collaborator

Egypt’s Interior Ministry announced on Tuesday that eight militants were killed in clashes east of Arish city in North Sinai, while the Islamic State-allied Province of Sinai said they had executed an “Egyptian military spy.”

The National Security Agency tracked the movements of groups allegedly involved in several militant operations in North Sinai, monitoring their recruitment and plans to expand operations, the Interior Ministry reported on Facebook.

Recruits were trained in the use of weaponry and the assembly and planting of explosive devices in a desert area adjacent to Arish. They occupied a vacant building in Arish’s Raysa area as a base for conducting their operations, the ministry added.

The building was raided by security forces and an exchange of fire took place, during which eight militants were killed and five automatic weapons, two explosive devices and ammunition was seized. The identities of the dead militants have not yet been confirmed.

Raysa is situated east of Arish, close to the headquarters of border guard battalion 101, which is the operative headquarters of military operations in the western area of North Sinai.

A security source told Mada Masr that the deceased were transported to Ismailia Hospital morgue for identification.

The Interior Ministry’s statement comes a day after Reuters reported the killing of eight alleged militants in a raid on a house east of Arish.

In related news, the Province of Sinai claimed the death of an alleged military informant, identified by Sinai-related Facebook pages as Mohamed Hassan, a 17-year-old young man, who disappeared 20 days ago from Sheikh Zuwayed city.

The Province of Sinai also recently claimed the killing of another 17-year-old young man from the Rumailat tribe, alleging he was a member of the Tarabin tribe, known for their collaborations with Egypt’s Armed Forces. Violent photos of his decapitation with a knife were released. The deceased appeared to have been bound and suspended upside down from a tree in the Barth area south of Rafah city.