Update: Conscript dies in drive-by shooting

A police conscript was shot to death on Monday afternoon in a drive-by committed by two masked assailants, reported the state-owned Middle East News Agency (MENA).

The victim, Abdel Rahm Aboul Ela, was headed home in the norther city of Zaghazig, Sharqiya, when the unidentified attackers rode by on a motorcycle and shot him with live ammunition.

With a recent upsurge of such attacks, the Armed Forces have been stepping up security operations across the country, and especially in Sinai. 

Earlier on Monday, the military stated that it killed 14 extremists between February 21-23 in a new security operation, according to a statement on the Armed Forces spokesperson’s official Facebook page.

The statement revealed that the Armed Forces targeted “terrorist strongholds” in North Sinai, also arresting 23 others currently under inspection.

Twenty four huts allegedly used by “terrorist elements as a launching pad for their attacks on the police and army” were also burnt, along with 11 storage spaces used to smuggle goods to Gaza.

The Armed Forces also said it destroyed 15 unlicensed cars and three motorbikes allegedly used by “terrorist elements to target the police and army,” according to the statement.

On Sunday, the Armed Forces added that it destroyed eight tunnels in Rafah, bringing the total number of tunnels destroyed in the current crackdown to 1,297.

Attacks targeting police stations, military checkpoints and other government establishments have increased in Sinai, particularly following the ouster of former President Mohamed Morsi on July 3.

As a result, the Armed Forces has also intensified its crackdown on extremist elements in the area.

Last month, the military killed and injured around 112 jihadis in North Sinai; those killed were allegedly takfiri jihadis, according to the Armed Forces. 69 people were also arrested, including alleged members of the Sinai-based militant group Ansar Beit al-Maqdes, which claimed responsibility for several Cairo bombings targeting security forces in recent months.