Family killed by Egyptian airstrike in Sinai
A family of five, inluding three children, were killed by an Egyptian military airstrike after it hit their house in North Sinai.
2 min read
Sinai has seen increased clashes between militants and the Egyptian military [Getty]
A couple and their three children, including a five-year-old girl, were killed on Thursday when shelling hit their house in North Sinai.
A teenager was also wounded in the attack on the family of Juma Salem, in the town of Rafah, which borders the Gaza Strip.
Local sources told The New Arab that the Egyptian army carried out a number of raids on Rafah and Shiekh Zuwaid this morning.
Egyptian authorities have been facing a growing Islamist insurgency in North Sinai since the ousting of former president Mohamed Morsi in 2013.
The governorate has since become the scene of clashes between militants and the Egyptian armed forces, which have launched an intensified counter-insurgency crackdown.
Since Egypt launched its latest operation against armed groups in Sinai, military figures claimed to have killed hundreds of militants.
However, local sources dispute this, saying the number is closer to dozens.
In May, the Egyptian Observatory for Rights and Freedoms issued a report entitled Human Rights Violence in Sinai about the state of emergency imposed in the region.
It counted 681 extra-judicial executions of accused militants, 1,481 arbitrary arrests and the displacement of 21,392 people.
Militants claimed to have downed the Russian airliner that crashed in the Sinai on 31 October, killing all 224 people on board, after smuggling a bomb on board.
A teenager was also wounded in the attack on the family of Juma Salem, in the town of Rafah, which borders the Gaza Strip.
Local sources told The New Arab that the Egyptian army carried out a number of raids on Rafah and Shiekh Zuwaid this morning.
Egyptian authorities have been facing a growing Islamist insurgency in North Sinai since the ousting of former president Mohamed Morsi in 2013.
The governorate has since become the scene of clashes between militants and the Egyptian armed forces, which have launched an intensified counter-insurgency crackdown.
Since Egypt launched its latest operation against armed groups in Sinai, military figures claimed to have killed hundreds of militants.
However, local sources dispute this, saying the number is closer to dozens.
In May, the Egyptian Observatory for Rights and Freedoms issued a report entitled Human Rights Violence in Sinai about the state of emergency imposed in the region.
It counted 681 extra-judicial executions of accused militants, 1,481 arbitrary arrests and the displacement of 21,392 people.
Militants claimed to have downed the Russian airliner that crashed in the Sinai on 31 October, killing all 224 people on board, after smuggling a bomb on board.
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