EGYPT ARMY KILLS 16 MILITANTS IN NORTH SINAI

Army soldiers stand guard around the area where rocket-propelled grenades hit a bus in El-Arish city, North Sinai, July 15, 2013 (File: Reuters) — **Army soldiers stand guard around the area where rocket-propelled grenades hit a bus in El-Arish city, North Sinai, July 15, 2013** (File: Reuters)

Sinai, 13 Dhulhijja 1435/7 October 2014 (MINA) – Egypt’s army killed 16 militants from the Ansar Bayt Al-Maqdis members group early Tuesday as it continues strike militants in the restive Sinai Peninsula, Aswat Masriya reported.

In offensives south of Sheikh Zuweid and Rafah cities in North Sinai, army forces killed 16, injured six others and arrested four members of the group, Ahramonline quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting.

The group reported had vowed to carry out deadly attacks against security forces during the Eid holidays, coming to an end on Tuesday.

A video published on online member forums on Sunday said that Ansar Bayt Al-Maqdis had decapitated three people and shot a fourth for “collaborating” with Israel’s Mossad spy agency and the Egyptian army.

The group published a previous decapitation video of four others in August who they said had provided information that helped an Israeli drone strike kill three of the group’s fighters in July.

Sinai locals also found several corpses of decapitated men in September, without more confirmation.

Reuters reported last week that the Egyptian army killed a top Ansar Bayt Al-Maqdis field commander in the North Sinai border town of Rafah.

Militant attacks have killed hundreds of police and army personnel since August 2013. For its part, the army has routinely announced the killing or arrest of militants, mainly in the tumultuous Sinai Peninsula. (T/R04/P3)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)