Ansar Bayt Al Maqdis has claimed responsibility for the attack on the Sheikh Zuweid police station that took place earlier Saturday, according to Islamist Movement analyst, Mounir Adeeb. Police thwarted the Saturday morning bombing attempt in North Sinai, which killed two assailants and injured two officers. The two suicide bombers tried to storm a security checkpoint in front of the Sheikh Zuweid police station, and militants prevented ambulances from reaching the site of the blast. Additionally, the Sinai-based organization claimed responsibility for the abduction of an Egyptian Armed Forces officer, according to Ansar Bayt Al Maqdis-affiliated Twitter accounts. Reports said that four militants stopped the officer, Mahmoud Saad, three days ago and kidnapped him in the Gelbana district, Ismailia Governorate. However, the Army has given no further details about the abduction. The Egyptian Armed Forces declared Friday that 26 members of Ansar Bayt Al Maqdis had been killed in North Sinai, and 10 others injured. In November 2014, Ansar Bayt Al Maqdis pledged allegiance to Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi, the leader of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), and named themselves "Wilayat Sinai" or the Province of Sinai. Ever since, the group has been mounting attacks against Egyptian Police personnel and Army troops, mostly in Sinai and sometimes in the capital.
