On January 19, ISIS fighters ambushed a vehicle of the Egyptian Army south of the city of Rafah in the northern part of the Sinai Peninsula, according to the ISIS-linked news agency Amaq. The outlet added that ISIS fighters were able to capture the vehicle and kill a contractor of the Egyptian Army in the ambush.
Moreover, Amaq reported that ISIS fighters destroyed another vehicle of the Egyptian Army with an IED in al-Dakasat area west of the city of Sheikh Zuweid in the norther part of the Sinai Peninsula.
Meanwhile, the UK-based newspaper al-Araby al-Jadeed revealed that the Egyptian Army began massing its troops around the city of Rafah in order to launch a wide-scale military operation against ISIS cells operating south and west of it.
The upcoming military operation of the Egyptian Army is expected to be the biggest yet against the terrorist group in the Sinai Peninsula and will target the main hideouts of the terrorist group inside and around Rafah, according to al-Araby al-Jadeed report.
On November 29, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi ordered the Egyptian Army to restore security in the Sinai Peninsula within three months. The upcoming anti-ISIS operation is likely the result of al-Sisi’s order.