The leader of an IS affiliated group in the restive Sinai province along with 45 other militants was killed in an army operation. Egypt Army spokesperson said on Facebook, Abu Doaa el-Ansari, the leader of the Sinai-based militant group, Ansar Beit el-Maqdes and 45 other militants, were killed in el-Arish city of North Sinai in an operation by Egypt’s armed forces.
The spokesman said many others were injured in the army raid while depots where weapons, ammunition and explosives were stashed were destroyed.
Ansar Beit el-Maqdes had pledged allegiance to IS in 2014. The group claimed responsibility for downing the Russian airliner carrying holiday makers from an Egyptian resort last year, that killed all 224 people on board.