Move FM Global News

CAIRO, Egypt – After being ambushed by a group of militants, who tried to attack an Egyptian police checkpoint in the northern Sinai on Saturday – the suspected militants were reportedly shot dead by officers. 

Egypt’s state news media agency, MENA, said in a report that four suspected militants tried to mount an attack on a police checkpoint in northern Sinai, but were shot and killed by Egyptian security forces. 

Officials said in the report that the militants were armed with explosive belts when they tried to storm a checkpoint on the coastal road in the North Sinai provincial capital of el-Arish.

The militants, who reportedly tried to storm the checkpoint, were confronted by police officers who opened fire at the militants, killing four of them, but the others escaped.

Further, Security forces were quoted as saying that they had recovered 10 explosive charges, four automatic rifles, three suicide belts, rocket-propelled and hand grenades.

Weapons including four AK-47 assault rifles, one RPG launcher, gun magazinestion were also recovered.

The attack was thwarted a day after the Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi issued an order that instructs the country’s army and security forces to crush militants.

The stern order by Egypt came in response to the devastating attack by gunmen, who opened fire on worshippers at a mosque in Sinai last November, killing hundreds of them.