Army seizes 2 cars full of explosives in Sinai Peninsula

CAIRO – 9 June 2017: Security forces from the Third Field Army stopped two vehicles loaded with explosives and material used in bomb and IED manufacturing on the eastern side of the Ahmed Hamdi Tunnel that links Cairo and the Sinai Peninsula, it was announced on Tuesday.

Troops also later detained a suspected militant at the wheel of a four-wheel drive car in central Sinai, where he sustained injuries during the arrest.

The Egyptian Army continues its security campaigns and sweeping processes to follow the activities of outlawed militant groups in Sinai, with efforts concentrated on maintaining full control over all roads and crossings that lead to the peninsula, according to a statement issued on the Third Army’s official Facebook page by a spokesperson regarding the Sinai security situation.

Over the decades, the Sinai Peninsula has been a hotbed for militants operating both within Egypt and in neighboring countries.

Since coming to power, President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi has made concerted efforts to bolster the military presence in the Sinai, targeting what the state perceives to be terrorist elements operating out of the region, including the Islamic State-affiliated ‘Sinai Province’ group (previously known as Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis) and the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood.