Two members of the Sinai-based Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis militant group were killed on Tuesday in North Sinai by the Egyptian armed forces during a military raid. According to local residents, the raid took place in Abu El-Araaj village, located south of Sheikh Zuweid, on Tuesday which left two members of the militant group dead. "There are extensive military raids now, after the latest military convoy explosion," a resident said. Al-Qaeda-inspired Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis claimed responsibility for an attack on a security convoy last week through a video allegedly released by the group. The YouTube video published on Friday shows clear footage of the convoy exploding, leaving 11 security personnel dead. President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi condemned the incident and vowed to counter the group's existence in the Sinai Peninsula, during a public speech he gave on Saturday. Attacks on police and military targets in the restive Sinai Peninsula have been on the rise since former president Mohamed Morsi's ouster last summer. Dozens of attacks have been claimed by Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis, both in Sinai and across Egypt, including an assassination attempt against Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim. The Egyptian military has been carrying out raids and operations as part of an ongoing security effort to tackle militant activity in the Sinai Peninsula. Bloody clashes between military forces and other armed rebel groups based in Sinai has left more than 400 dead, including civilians, according to Egyptian military statements. A statement published by the official page of the military spokesman on 4 September said that during a raid launched between 30 August and 3 September against extremists, 16 people were killed and 170 others were arrested across cities of North Sinai, Alexandria, Al-Sharqiya, Ismailia, Kafr Al-Sheikh, and Daqahleya . Other attacks by the Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis are still pending investigations by the military. These include the beheading of four civilians accused by the group of working for the Israeli intelligence, which the militant group claimed responsibility for on 31 August in a video statement.
