12-year-old killed in clashes between military, militants in North Sinai

The Armed Forces killed 16 North Sinai militants in overnight operations near Sheikh Zuwayed, Reuters reported on Tuesday.

Another six militants were injured and four were arrested in the incident. The clashes purportedly broke out when militant forces fired at military personnel from four-wheel-drive vehicles adorned with black flags, according to Reuters.

The violence around Sheikh Zuwayed also killed a 12-year-old child, the privately owned newspaper Al-Masry Al-Youm (AMAY) reported. Militants allegedly detonated an explosive device near the child’s home, according to the paper.

Prior to the incident, earlier on Monday the military stepped up its operations in North Sinai in response to a video in which illegal militant group Ansar Beit al-Maqdes members behead three Sinai residents accused of providing information to the Israeli intelligence. A fourth person had been shot dead for providing information to the Egyptian military, a group member explained in the video, and his house was reportedly bombed. In the footage, the group pledged to pursue anyone who plots against them by collaborating with the Egyptian government.

Security sources said that on Monday the military also cut off Internet and mobile communications in the area in order to sever contact between militant groups, AMAY reported.

In August, Ansar Beit al-Maqdes released a video threatening Egypt’s police and Armed Forces of impending attacks. The video included footage of a masked militant shooting four purported soldiers at a checkpoint, followed by footage of the Farafra military checkpoint bombing that claimed the lives of 21 soldiers.

Ansar Beit al-Maqdes became active in Sinai and across the country following the ouster of the Muslim Brotherhood from power in 2013. Designated a terrorist organization in April, the group has claimed responsibility for several operations, including the Daqahlia and the Cairo Security Directorate bombings in December and January, and the attempted assassination of Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim.

Commentators have likened Ansar Beit al Maqdes’ video of beheadings to those circulated by Islamic State militants in Syria and Iraq, but there is no evidence of organizational ties between the two groups. 

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