Special to WorldTribune.com

Egyptian security forces killed a top leader of the affiliate of Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) during a shootout in North Sinai on Aug. 1.

An Egyptian army spokesman said Selim Suleiman al-Haram, identified as a leader of the terrorist group Sinai Province, was asked to turn himself in by a group of soldiers who surrounded his house in the town of Sheikh Zuweid. Al-Haram refused, opened fire on the soldiers and then attempted to blow himself up before being killed, the army spokesman said.

Sinai Province, which has pledged allegiance to ISIL, claimed responsibility for a bombing in Rafah at the Gaza border late last month that killed four Egyptian soldiers.

The confrontation with al-Haram comes as Egypt has increased cooperation with Saudi Arabia, sealing the  “Cairo Declaration” that will see the two countries establish a joint Arab military force and define their maritime borders in the Red Sea.

“At this current period which the Arab world is facing, we need to work together, because the threats are many, and we will not overcome them unless we work together,” said Egyptian President Abdul Fatah Sisi.

“Egypt and Saudi Arabia are the two pillars of Arab national security, and together we can confront these challenges.”

Both Saudi Arabia and Egypt are combating destabilization offensives by jihadist movements including ISIL, Al Qaida and the Muslim Brotherhood. The Saudis regard the Brotherhood’s brand of Islam as a threat to the kingdom’s state-endorsed Wahabi ideology.

  Abdul Fatah Sisi, Muslim Brotherhood, Selim Suleiman al-Haram, Top ISIL leader in Sinai dies in shootout with Egyptian forces, WorldTribune.com