Friend of 'Mansi the Legend' reveals new details about his life, death

CAIRO – 28 April 2020: In tandem with the airing of El Ekhteyar series portraying the biography of Egyptian Armed Forces iconic hero who martyred because of terrorism, his friend, Lawyer Raafat Balat, talked to Al Watan newspaper about his life and death.

Late Commander of Thunderbolt Battalion 103 Colonel Ahmed Mansi martyred on July 7, 2017 in an attack on an ambush in North Sinai's Al Barth village located between the border town of Rafah and Sheikh Zowayed town.



The ambush got encircled by 13 armed vehicles carrying 100 takfiris (terrorists who claim others are unbelievers). The outcome of the battle that lasted for hours was the killing of 40 takfiris and the destruction of six vehicles. Yet, 13 officers and soldiers at the ambush martyred, including Colonel Mansi.

The late commander of Thunderbolt Battalion 103, dubbed Mansi the Legend, was born in 1977 in Sharqeya, and graduated from the Military Academy in 1992. He was married, and the father of three.


Photo shared by a colleague of late Commander of Thunderbolt Battalion 103 Colonel Ahmed Mansi who appears on the right – Facebook

The martyr's friend told El Watan newspaper that Mansi told him to take care of his family twice. One was before moving to North Sinai in 2013, and the other was when he became the commander of Thunderbolt Battalion 103 after Colonel Rami Hasanein had martyred in 2016.

Balat revealed Mansi had told him he would want to get buried wearing the same overall he put on when he passed away, if he died in combat. He also wanted his family to bury with him a clean overall that he himself prepared two months before the incident.

The lawyer unveiled that the body of Mansi was not damaged by bullets, and that the cause of his death is a bullet that hit a tank so its fragment penetrated the back of his head breaking his skull and causing a wound whose depth was 1.5 cm.

Balat stated that Mansi used to follow news on economics and politics in light of the political momentum that occurred as a result of January 25th Revolution in 2011 and June 30 Revolution in 2013. He added that they used to discuss security and strategic developments, including those happening in North Sinai, and their impact on Egypt.

Widow of Mansi Manar Selim said in a phone-in on a TV program that the clothes and watch put on by Amir Karara, the actor playing Mansi's role in the series, are a copy of the belongings of Mansi but are not his actual belongings.

Selim added that her late husband loved drawing, and that he spent a few weeks at the Fine Arts School before joining the Military Academy. She also revealed that he used to write poetry and was multi-talented.


Wife of late Commander of Thunderbolt Battalion 103 Colonel Ahmed Mansi Manar Selim and their three children in the inauguration of the floating bridge named after him in Port Said. The bridge launched in 2017 connects the eastern and western banks of Suez Canal

North Sinai has been hit by terrorism since late President Mohamed Morsi, who was one of the leaders of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, held office in 2012. A number of soldiers were kidnapped, and all the soldiers in a checkpoint were assassinated in a terror attack in Rafah town bordering Gaza Strip.

After his overthrow over mass protests in 2013, terrorism magnified in North Sinai and spread across the country. Later on, terrorism became confined to North Sinai, and the frequency of terror attacks decreased tremendously. Yet, dozens of security personnel martyred and injured.

That is because the Egyptian Armed Forces and the Egyptian Police have been eliminating terrorist hideouts, and illegal secret tunnels that were dug to connect with Gaza Strip with the purpose of smuggling goods, arms, and terrorists.