by WorldTribune Staff, June 15, 2016
Using night vision technology, Egyptian security forces were able to detect and kill a group of jihadists advancing toward a North Sinai checkpoint.
The Egyptian army reported killing 35 jihadists in Sheikh Zuweid on June 15. The gunmen were spotted after dawn prayer in two areas “thanks to advanced night vision surveillance devices,” Egyptian security sources told Ma’an.
In an area known as Najid Square, the army detected more than 30 gunmen on motorcycles, reportedly armed with rocket-propelled grenade launchers, advancing toward checkpoints the Egyptian army had recently set up south of Sheikh Zuweid.
Egyptian forces fired artillery shells at the gunmen.
Military sources said new checkpoints between the villages of Qabr Amir and al-Kharruba on the international road south of Sheikh Zuweid were set up to to prevent jihadists from planting roadside explosive devices in the area.
Six Egyptian soldiers were killed and six others were seriously injured last month when an explosive device hit an armored military vehicle south of Sheikh Zuweid.
Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) affiliate Sinai Province has been responsible for the majority of attacks on Egyptian security personnel in Sinai.