Egypt: Military officer killed in Sinai during raid on drug traffickers

The Egyptian army has announced the killing of an officer in the Sinai Peninsula during clash with drug traffickers.

The clash, according to the army, occurred in the South Sinai governorate and broke out after Egyptian soldiers grew suspicious of a vehicle that reportedly turned out to be transporting large amounts of narcotics.

The army said the soldiers were met with gunshots as they approached the vehicle. One officer was killed in the shoot-out while others were injured. One of the smugglers was also killed, the military institution indicated. Sinai shares a border with Israel and the besieged Palestinian coastal territory of Gaza.

Drug smuggling attempts are often thwarted in the region. The Egyptian army has a strong presence in the region where it is facing insurgency in the restive North Sinai province from militants of Egypt’s branch of the Islamic State group, known as Wilayat Sinai. Hundreds of soldiers, militants and civilians are believed to have died.