IS releases infograph on militant attacks in Egypt's Sinai

Islamic State group aligned Amaq news has released an infograph detailing various attacks its militants have launched on Egyptian army and police outposts in the North Sinai region.

MENA

2 min read

The New Arab

02 October, 2016

Hundreds of soldiers and police conscripts have been killed in Sinai since 2013 [AFP]

An infographic made by Islamic State group media has been released detailing various attacks by its militants against Egyptian troops and police in the restive Sinai Peninsula.

The illustration by the Amaq news agency claimed that snipers from the IS' "Sinai Province" affiliate had killed 35 police and soldiers in Rafah city over the past three months.

The group also claims to have been behind the murders of two officers and an "army collaborator", according to Amaq.

The infographic explains that 17 percent of IS attacks took place in the Sinai's "capital" al-Arish, while 37 percent took place in Sheikh Zuweid and 46 percent in Rafah.

'Oath of allegiance'

Sinai militants pledged allegiance to IS more than a year after the military overthrew Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013.

Fighters launched an insurgency against government forces resulting in the deaths of hundreds of police officers and troops, most whom are conscripts.

In August, the Egyptian miltary claimed it had killed the leader of IS in Sinai, Abu Duaa al-Ansari, and a number of his top aides, but attacks by the militants have not deceased.

[Click to enlarge]

They have persisted despite the massive military campaign to uproot IS from Sinai.

Roadside bombs and ambushes in the eastern peninsula are frequent in the area that borders Israel and the Gaza Strip.

The most recent attack took place on Saturday, when gunmen killed five police conscripts in their car in al-Arish, according to a statement by the interior ministry.

It came only days after assailants shot dead three police officers and their driver in the city. The attack was later claimed by the Sinai Province.

The militants have also claimed responsibility for the bombing in 2015 of a Russian airliner carrying holidaymakers from an Egyptian resort, killing all 224 people on board.

Besides army and police targets in North Sinai, civilians are also subject to abduction by 'Sinai Province' on suspicion of collaboration with the army.

The group also often releases footage showing the execution of North Sinai residents on charges of espionage for the army.

Not all militants in the province are linked to IS, and there are thought to be anti-regime fighters and criminal gang operating in the Sinai.

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