Sinai - An Egyptian soldier was killed by a sniper at a military checkpoint in the city of Sheikh Zuweid in the northern Sinai Peninsula on Monday morning, Egyptian security sources said, hours after the Egyptian army claimed that Egyptian forces killed eight militants in the nearby city of Rafah. According to the sources, a sniper allegedly affiliated to the so-called Islamic State group targeted a military checkpoint installed in Sheikh Zuweid, shooting and immediately killing 21-year-old Egyptian soldier Rida Sabri Muhammad with a bullet to the chest. Separately, Egyptian army spokesperson Tamer al-Rifai said that overnight Sunday, Egyptian forces killed eight militants while thwarting an ambush attempt on Egyptian military vehicles in the city of Rafah, north east of Sheikh Zuweid along the border with the Gaza Strip. Al-Rifai added in the statement that Egyptian forces were also able to detain 22 suspects accused of conducting terror attacks in Rafah and al-Arish during the raid. The incidents came as the latest of a string of deadly encounters in North Sinai, amid an ongoing battle waged by the Egyptian government against an insurgency in the region, with Egyptian authorities holding the local affiliate of the Islamic State responsible for the majority of attacks.
