Egypt: Interior Ministry Claims Killing Senior IS Member in Restive Sinai

The Egyptian interior ministry Tuesday announced in a statement the killing of a prominent member of the Islamic State group (IS) in the Sinai after security forces clashed with militants in a raid in the city of Arish, north Sinai.

Ahmed Hassan Ahmed Al-Nashu, also known as Ghandur Al-Masri, was killed in a building under construction, in the raid, the statement noted.

He was killed in shootout with security forces. A second high profile member reportedly managed to flee. Ghandur Al-Masri was responsible for recruiting new members for Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis group, which pledged allegiance to IS in 2014. Masri was also responsible for operations against security forces, the ministry pointed out.

Egyptian security forces have been facing militancy from Islamists since 2013 following the removal of Islamist President Mohamed Morsi by General al-Sisi who was then defense minister.

Several security personnel have been killed in suicide attacks and coordinated gun attacks.

Earlier Tuesday, the interior ministry also announced the killing of two members of the Hasm militant group in a shootout near New Cairo. The members identified as Ahmed El-Bahnasawy and Emad El-Far were shot dead in police raid.

They are suspected of involvement in two deadly attacks in May against security forces, including a drive-by shooting in Cairo’s Nasr City that killed three policemen and injured five others.

The ministry also linked the suspects to a June bombing that killed a Central Security officer on Cairo’s Autostrad Road, as well as the 2016 attempted assassination of the Nasr City Criminal Court head judge Ahmed Abdel-Fotouh, Al Ahram media notes.