Four extremists were killed and four citizens kidnapped in Sinai province, where security forces continue to carry out operations to target terrorist elements loyal to ISIS, according to tribal and security sources.
There were conflicting reports on the number of citizens kidnapped by the gunmen. While the German press agency, dpa, quoted a security source as saying that unidentified gunmen blocked the international road of Arish-Qantara and kidnapped six civilians, the Sinai Tribes Union said the number of abductees stood at four, indicating that ISIS carried out the operation.
Tribal sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that masked gunmen attacked a house in Masfag village, northeast of Sinai, and kidnapped a man, two of his sons, and his son-in-law.
The abductees are members of al-Dawaghrah tribe, as confirmed by tribe member Engineer Sami Hawari to Asharq Al-Awsat.
The gunmen took Musa Hamdan Abu Mrihail, two of his sons, Islam and Jaber, as well as his brother-in-law Sabah Asbih, and stole Asbih’s car.
Two weeks ago, the Egyptian Interior Ministry announced 11 terrorists were killed in a fire exchange with security forces in al-Obour area of el-Arish.
The Ministry explained that the national security received information that a terrorist group was launching hostile operations from a farm in al-Obour.
Police forces found five FN guns, a machine gun, a pistol, two explosive devices and an explosive belt at the site.
An eyewitness, Faisal Salem, told Asharq Al-Awsat that six terrorists attacked Masfag, fired a number of gunshots and kidnapped the civilians, while four other militants secured the international road.
He explained that during their escape, joint forces of the army and police arrived, and deployed in the area, while a military aircraft bombed the car of one of the kidnappers, killing the four terrorists.
The security forces chased the attackers in the desert, pointing out that military planes struck the vehicle with a missile, killing the four extremists, security sources told dpa.
For the past four years, Egyptian security forces have been battling armed groups in northern Sinai, most of which are ISIS affiliates. In February 2018, military forces and the police began a wide-range operation against these groups.
The frequency of terrorist attacks against security forces has declined over the past period, and the authorities have taken measures to ease travel, cargo transport, and fuel restrictions in Sinai, which were subject to strict arrangements to prevent their access to terrorists.
