Armed forces soldier killed by IED blast in Sinai

March's first week has seen intense clashes between armed forces and Sinai Province militants in North Sinai

A soldier in the Egyptian armed forces was killed on Tuesday when an improvised explosive device (IED) detonated near an armoured police vehicle that was on patrol in the El-Mahdia region in Rafah in the North Sinai governorate, according to state-run Akhabar Al-Youm.
The planted IED was activated remotely by a member of the "Sinai Province" militant group. "Sinai Province" militants have been in clashes with security forces during the patrol. The solider was immediately transferred to Al-Arish Military Hospital. However, he died in transit.
The patrol is part of daily operations executed by Egyptian armed forces and police inside Sinai to curtail the spread of "Sinai Province" militants.
Meanwhile, the Egyptian armed forces' official spokesman Colonel Mohamed Samir published on his official Facebook page a documentary film produced by Egyptian Military Media Authority to glorify a solider named Mohamed Ayman Abu Shaqqa. Abu Shaqqa died in December trying to save his inmates by hugging a suicide bomber wearing ‘explosive belt' to push him away from his mates.
The Egyptian armed forces have suffered extensive causalities during the counter-insurgency programme that the military has carried out since the ouster of former president Mohamed Morsi.
The armed forces and police have been engaged in clashes with "Sinai Province" militants over the past week. On Friday, a police offer was reported killed after fighting in Rafah. The officer died while receiving treatment in Maadi Military Hospital.
On Sunday, the Egyptian armed forces announced that it had killed five militants following clashes in Sheikh Zuweid city in North Sinai.
On the official spokesperson's Facebook page, the armed forces indicated that troops from the Second Field Army were on patrol when they were shot at by a number of militants. They received orders to open fire on the militants, killing five of them, according to the statement.
On Monday "Sinai Province" claimed responsibility for an IED explosion that killed five soldiers in Al-Arish in the governorate of North Sinai.