EL-ARISH, Egypt – A roadside bomb attack on an armoured vehicle in Egypt’s restive northern Sinai killed six soldiers on Sunday, including an officer, military officials said.
The attack took place as the country’s defence minister carried out a limited military reshuffle, replacing the commander of the army division responsible for securing northern Sinai. Maj. Gen. Mohammed el-Shahat, who only commanded Egypt’s second field army for about a year, was promoted to head of military intelligence; el-Shahat’s deputy, Maj. Gen. Nasser el-Assi, will replace him.
El-Assi inherits a simmering Sinai-based Islamic insurgency that continues to successfully target army soldiers and police officers despite an intensive military campaign. The attacks surged following the 2013 military ouster of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi.
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The largest Sinai-based militant group, Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group last year and now refers to itself as the group’s Sinai Province. The group claimed responsibility on Twitter for Sunday’s deadly attack.
Officials said the explosion Sunday occurred in the village of Kharouba south of El-Arish, the capital of North Sinai province. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief journalists.
Earlier this month, the IS affiliate in Sinai killed at least 16 soldiers and three civilians and kidnapped a conscript. On Friday they posted a video showing the kidnapped soldier pleading with Egyptians not to join the army before being shot to death.
The reshuffle in military leadership also included the commander of the Egyptian navy at a time when the navy could begin playing an increasingly prominent role, because of the Yemeni crisis. Egyptian warships are already deployed off the coast of Yemen to secure the strategically vital Bab el-Mandab strait – the gateway to the Suez Canal.
Egypt is currently a main member of the Saudi-led military coalition launching airstrikes against Shiite rebels who have conquered the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, and forced out the Western-backed president. Egyptian military leaders have repeatedly stated their willingness to commit ground troops, if necessary, to the operation.
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