Perpetrator Of Attack That Killed 21 Soldiers In Western Desert Arrested: Army

Egypt’s military forces have arrested a man who carried out one of the deadliest attacks in the western desert that killed 21 soldiers last July.

The army also said it arrested 17 others terrorists, according to a statement by military spokesperson Mohamed Samir posted Wednesday on his official Facebook page.

Samir said that the military, with the cooperation of police forces were able to arrest 18 terrorists from North Sinai, Ismailia, Port Said and Daqahliya governorates.

According to the spokesperson, Ramadan Abdel Aziz is one of the perpetrators who has been arrested for participating in the terrorist attack that killed 21 border guards last July.

The attack was carried out by “terrorists” who fired a rocket propelled grenade, in an exchange of fire that blew up a weapons depot at a post in the local town of Farafra, killing the soldiers.

Militants have stepped up attacks on police and army forces since the ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in July 2013 and a deadly crackdown on his supporters that followed.

The army has since struggled to crush an Islamist insurgency, mainly based in the border Sinai Peninsula that has killed hundreds in bombings and shootings.

A recent attack in the North Sinai governorate also took place in October, killing 31 soldier at the Karm Alkwadis security checkpoint in Sheikh Zuweid.

Source : Ahram online