ISIS militants abduct five people working on canal project in Egypt’s Sinai
At least five Egyptians were abducted by ISIS militants on Tuesday in the restive northern part of the Sinai Peninsula, security officials said.
The five were driving to their workplace in the small town of Bir al-Abed when the militants from the ISIS group stopped their vehicle and took them to an unknown place.
The five include three engineers, a laborer and their driver, said the officials. They all work at the el-Salam canal project that moves the Nile Delta drainage water to be reused in agriculture in the peninsula.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack. The two security officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.
Egypt has been battling militants, now led by the ISIS group, in the northern part of Sinai for years. Violence and instability there intensified after the 2013 military’s ouster of Egypt’s elected but divisive Islamist president, Mohammed Morsi, amid nationwide protests against his year in power.
ISIS has carried out numerous attacks, mainly targeting Egyptian security forces, the country’s minority Christians and those whom the militants accuse of collaborating with the military and police. They have also kidnapped people, mostly Christians and Bedouins, sometimes for ransom.
Though the pace of ISIS attacks in Sinai has slowed to a trickle since February 2018, when the military launched a massive operation in Sinai that also encompassed parts of the Nile Delta and the desert along the country’s western border with Libya, abductions and kidnappings still occasionally happen.
Read more: ISIS bombing kills police officer, wounds three others in Sinai: Egypt officials
-
Israel to provide COVID-19 vaccines to peacekeepers in Egypt’s Sinai, official says
Israel will provide the US-led Multinational Force and Observers (MFO) in Egypt’s Sinai peninsula with COVID-19 vaccines for its personnel, an Israeli ... Coronavirus -
ISIS bombing kills police officer, wounds three others in Sinai: Egypt officials
ISIS has blown up a roadside bomb in the restive northern Sinai Peninsula, killing one member of Egypt’s security forces and wounding three others, ... Middle East -
Explosion hits gas pipeline in Egypt's North Sinai region
A blast hit a gas pipeline in Egypt's restive North Sinai region Thursday, a security source told AFP."An explosion occurred (Thursday) evening along ... Middle East -
Three security forces killed in Sinai bombing: Egypt officials
Two roadside bombs exploded in restive northern Sinai Peninsula killing three members of Egypt’s security forces and wounding 10 others, officials ... North Africa -
Egypt army says 40 militants killed in Sinai since September
The Egyptian military on Tuesday said forces have killed at least 40 militants over the past three months in raids and airstrikes against an extremist ... Middle East -
Development in Egypt's North Sinai snags as militants shift tactics
When Egyptian farmer Mohamed al-Qalaji’s family returned to their village in North Sinai last month after the army had expelled extremist militants, ... Features -
Egypt army says killed over 70 extremists in north Sinai
Egypt’s army announced Sunday that more than 70 alleged extremists have been killed in recent military operations in North Sinai, the location of an ... Middle East