File image.
On November 8, ISIS announced through its official news agency, Amaq, that its cells had ambushed a joint patrol of the Egyptian Armed Forces (EAF) and affiliated tribal forces in the Sinai Peninsula.
The patrol was moving in the area of al-Jalbanah in northwestern Sinai on November 6 when it was ambushed by ISIS cells. The terrorists targeted the patrol with machine guns, killing a high-ranking officer of the EAF along with three tribal fighters.
Amaq identified the fallen officer as Lieutenant Colonel Asim Muhammad Essam, commander of the EAF’s 103rd Battalion “Sa’ka”. According to the news agency, Lt. Col. Essam was the third commander of the special operations battalion to be killed by ISIS in Sinai in recent years.
ISIS said that its cells have been engaged in a “hit-and-run” battle with the EAF and tribal forces in al-Jalbanah for more than three months. The terrorist group acknowledged, however, that the Egyptian Air Force have been targeting its cells in the area.
The EAF deployed several units of the elite Airborne Corps and the Sa’ka special operation forces in western and northwestern Sinai after the May 7 ISIS attack on the Suze Canal water pumping station in Qantara. At least 11 service members were killed in the attack, which was one of the deadliest against Egyptian troops in recent years.
ISIS’s last attacks in the Sinai Peninsula were small in scale. Still, they indicate that the terrorist group’s insurgency in the strategic region will not end soon.
- Egyptian Soldier, Two Tribal Fighters Killed In Clashes With ISIS Terrorists In Sinai
- New Attack By ISIS Cells In Saini Leaves Egyptian Officer Dead
Oh dear. Still publishing articles from Amaq, a known PROPAGANDA outlet run by a bunch of desperate attention seeking has-been terrorists, SouthFront? We are getting desperate aren’t we?