Egyptian army captain killed in northern Sinai roadside blast

Medics say officer was hit by improvised bomb, as military wages campaign against jihadists

Illustrative: Egyptian policemen driving on a road leading to the North Sinai provincial capital of El-Arish, July 26, 2018. (AFP/Khaled DESOUKI)
Illustrative: Egyptian policemen driving on a road leading to the North Sinai provincial capital of El-Arish, July 26, 2018. (AFP/Khaled DESOUKI)

An Egyptian army captain has been killed by an improvised explosive device blast in North Sinai during a campaign to eliminate jihadists, medics said on Monday.

The officer died Sunday evening after an explosion hit his vehicle west of the coastal city of El-Arish, a local medical source said.

The Egyptian army has since February been conducting a major operation focused on the Sinai Peninsula to wipe out jihadists from the Islamic State group.

The military says that over 250 suspected jihadists and at least 35 soldiers have been killed in its “Sinai 2018” operation.

Jihadists launched an insurgency in Sinai after the 2013 military overthrow of Egypt’s Islamist president Mohamed Morsi, who was forced out by the military in the face of mass protests against his rule.

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