After rise of army operations, ‘Sinai Province’ follows hit and run strategy

As part of the ongoing sweeping operations conducted by the second field army in different parts of North Sinai following the massive exodus of Coptic families from Al-Arish city, Sunday’s operations resulted in the death of four militants. However, the city of Al-Arish, which occupied the news headlines during the last week, is still witnessing the presence of militants who are believed to be members of the IS affiliated group of ‘Sinai Province.’ On Sunday the militants opened a checkpoint in central Al-Arish, where they stopped many pedestrians and checked their IDs. They created such checkpoint to prove their presence in the city; however, once police forces arrived, they fled the scenes. Also, the checkpoint was aiming to target Coptic residents, as the militants were checking the pedestrians’ IDs, he added.