FLASH | 53 SOLDIERS MASSACRED BY MILITANTS
FLASH | 53 SOLDIERS MASSACRED BY
MILITANTS
Suspected Islamist militants have
killed about 53 Egyptian security personnel in a clash which broke out in the
Western Desert of the country.
The security forces where on their
way to raid the hideout of the militants near the Bahariya oasis in the Western
Desert when they were ambushed.
Fifteen militants also lost their
lives in the attack.
The Egyptian security forces were
understood to have gone into the desert following a tip-off about a possible
hideout.
Egypt is currently fighting an
Islamist insurgency in northern Sinai.
The Bahariya oasis where this attack
took place, however, lies hundreds of kilometres south-west of the troubled
region.
There has been no claim of
responsibility by the Islamist groups active in the area.
An initial
claim in Egyptian media linking Hasm, a smaller group, to the attack was later
revealed to have been false.
A security source quoted by local
news outlets said their convoy came under attack by militants using rocket-propelled
grenades and explosive devices.
The situation was reportedly made
worse for the security forces by the attackers’ familiarity with the area,
while the commanding officer was unable to call for land and air reinforcements
due to poor telecommunications in the desert.
