Special to WorldTribune.com

CAIRO — The Egyptian Army has killed an Al Qaida-aligned leader in
the turbulent Sinai Peninsula.

The military said Army units killed a jihad commander in the northern
Sinai village of Hurra on Nov. 26. The commander was identified as Mohammed Muhareb, known as Abu Munir, accused of planning numerous attacks on Egyptian soldiers and
security forces.

“He was one of the most prominent and dangerous of terrorists,” military spokesman Col. Ahmed Ali said.

The military said Muhareb’s son and another suspected jihad fighter — traveling in a truck — were killed. Four others were captured during a a gun battle near the Sinai border town of Rafah.

“They were killed in a clash with the 2nd Army this morning,” Ali said.

Sources said the 62-year-old Muhareb, a member of the powerful Bedouin tribe of Sawarka, was linked to the killing of scores of Egyptians. They included an ambush in August 2013 in which 25 police officers were killed outside Rafah.

Muhareb was also said to have helped recruit hundreds of Bedouins to Al
Qaida. He had issued sermons on Islam found on jihadist websites.

Over the last two months, Egypt, which announced the arrest of a major
arms dealer, has reiterated that the military was quelling the Islamist
revolt in Sinai. Still, attacks on the peninsula in
November were proceeding at a greater pace than during the previous month.

  Col. Ahmed Ali, Egyptian Army takes out Sinai terrorist linked to ambush that killed 25 policemen, Mohammed Muhareb, Rafah, Sawarka