Egyptian Army spokesman Colonel Tamer Rifai, photo by the Egyptian Ministry of Defense
On March 8, Egyptian Army spokesman Colonel Tamer Rifai revealed during his weekly press briefing that the Egyptian Army had killed 105 ISIS fighters and had arrested 2,829 suspects since the beginning of its military operation “Sinai 2018” in the Sinai Peninsula on February 9.
Col. Rifai added that the army and the air force had destroyed 1,907 positions, 5 tunnels, two media centers and two communication centers in the Sinai Peninsula. 175 vehicles and 287 motorcycles of the terrorist group had been also destroyed, according to Col. Rifai.
So far, ISIS cells had not been able to conduct any coordinated attacks in the Sinai Peninsula, which proved the effectiveness of the Egyptian Army’s tactics. According to Col. Rifai, some of these implemented tactics had included dividing Sinai to separated military sectors, setting hundreds of checkpoints on all key roads and establishing a security zone on the border with the Palestinian Gaza Strip.
However, ISIS cells are still capable of conducting limited attacks to this day. On March 8, ISIS fighters destroyed a bulldozer and a Humvee vehicle and damaged a M60 battle tank belonging the Egyptian Army with IEDs east and south of the city of al-Arish in the Sinai Peninsula, according to the ISIS-linked news agency Amaq.
The Egyptian Army will likely need another month or even more to fully eliminate the formarl ISIS in Sinai Peninsula. However, the terrorist group’s cells will likely remain in the area.
