The terrorist organization ISIS in Egypt claims that an unmanned aircraft of the Israeli Air Force attacked a car on Tuesday (Saturday) and killed five of its men in the Egyptian Rafah area. An ISIS al-Amaq news agency reported that the attack took place in the village of Shibana in the southern part of Rafah. One of the dead is Muhammad Adel Eid, known as Khatab al-Maqdisi, a Salafi operative in the Gaza Strip.
As you may recall, about a week and a half ago, four rockets were launched from the Sinai Peninsula, three of which were intercepted by an Iron Dome system and one exploded in an open area. About two hours after the rocket fire, Hamas reported two dead and five wounded in an attack in the Rafah area. After that attack, IDF sources claimed that the attack may have been carried out by the Egyptians. According to military commentators, even if the attack was carried out by the IDF working in cooperation with the Egyptian army, the IDF politically refrained from taking responsibility in order not to upset the Egyptian public. And to strengthen the leadership of the Egyptian president.
The ISIS branch in Sinai is estimated at 1,000-800 activists and is concentrated in the northern half of Sinai. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi recently revealed that 25,000 troops (41 battalions) are taking part in the stubborn fighting in Sinai whose end is not in sight. The Egyptian army, it seems, is succeeding more than ever in fighting against the spur, but total eradication is not in sight in the face of difficulties such as the terrain route, fighting against a force that is not a regular army and cooperation of the local population with the spur.
An Egyptian army spokesman recently announced that the army had uncovered and destroyed six tunnel openings connecting the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula. The photos he published show the tunnels equipped with a fan and other means, among other things. These tunnels were destroyed between January 17 and 2 this month. The spokesman said earlier this month that forces had managed to eliminate three operatives of the organization’s branch in northern Sinai.