Deputy chief of central Sinai’s Al-Qaseema police station was killed in Al-Arish, North Sinai on Sunday evening after being targeted by militants.
“Deputy chief of Al-Qeseema police station Major Ahmed Hassan Rashad was martyred following a shooting by an unknown assailant nearby Al-Arish police station. Police forces are currently doing a raster scan to arrest perpetrators,” the statement read.
The Islamic State (IS)-affiliated Sinai Province claimed responsibility for the attack after it published photos on social media of weapons, a car, and personal belongings that it seized from the murdered major.
A number of residents from Al-Arish told Daily News Egypt on condition of anonymity that the assassinated major was driving his car after he left the police station when suddenly a militant on a motorcycle opened fire on the officer.
“Two militants following after the shooting quickly seized the assassinated major’s car after throwing his body from it, and then ran away,” they clarified on Monday.
Meanwhile, an army conscript was killed after being targeted by a sniper while being on service at an army checkpoint south of Al-Arish, a journalist based in the city told Daily News Egypt Monday on condition of anonymity.
The army media office was not available to verify the authenticity of the aforementioned sniping operation against its conscript.
Militants of Sinai Province are following a new war strategy and exhibiting a radical change by changing from executing direct attacks against police and army checkpoints to concentrating on assassination operations of high-ranking officers in Sinai.
As a part of the new war strategy, Sinai Province in a statement two weeks ago claimed responsibility for killing an army brigadier general and a conscript with an improvised explosive device (IED) in central Sinai.
The IED targeted the brigadier general and conscript’s armoured car in central Sinai.
“Following accurate monitoring and pursuit, soldiers of the caliphate succeeded in planting an IED against the four-wheel drive vehicle of Brigadier General Ahmed Kamal Mahmoud, who is member of the apostate Egyptian army. The explosion at El-Monbatah village killed him along with other soldiers and officers. The soldiers should know that we are watching them,” the statement read.
Sinai has become the scene of frequent clashes between militants and state security forces.
As a result, an extensive counter-insurgency operation was launched to curb militancy. The Egyptian government has imposed a state of emergency in the peninsula’s northern region.