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10 alleged militants killed in fire exchange in Al-Arish Automatic firearms, explosive devices, large amount of ammunition confiscated, as per interior ministry
Ten alleged militants were killed during a fire exchange with Egyptian security forces in Al-Arish, North Sinai, according to the Interior Ministry. In a statement, the ministry said that security forces stormed on Tuesday a deserted farm, where the militants were hiding, and killed them all in a fire exchange. Automatic firearms, explosive devices, and a large amount of ammunition were confiscated, according to the ministry. It added that the alleged militants were planning to launch several “hostile attacks” targeting the state. On Monday, the most wanted Islamist militant, Hisham Al-Ashmawy, was captured by the Libyan National Army in Derna. Al-Ashmawy, a former army officer, was accused of being behind the most dangerous terrorist attacks in Egypt in recent years, including the assassination of Egypt's public prosecutor, Hisham Barakat, and the Farafra checkpoint attack, which resulted in the death of around 30 soldiers. He was fired from the Egyptian army after he displayed radical tendencies. Al-Ashmawy is the leader of the Al-Qaeda-aligned militant group, Al-Mourabitoun, and has links to other militant groups, including Jund Al-Islam, and Ansar Al-Islam. Since October 2014, a state of emergency has been imposed in North Sinai. The governorate has been rocked by several terrorist attacks since 2013, targeting hundreds of security personnel, mostly carried out by the Islamic State terrorist group's branch in Sinai. Last February, the military launched a comprehensive operation, dubbed ‘Sinai 2018', to confront militants in central and North Sinai, the Nile Delta region, and the Western Desert.
