By Lauren Morgan
By Lauren Morgan
Rabat – Egypt’s air force killed Abu Duaa al-Ansari in one of their operations along with 45 other jihadists, according to Egyptian media.
An airstrike operation carried out by Egypt has killed the head of Islamic State, Abu Duaa al-Ansari, alongside several senior aides and at least 45 other militants, the army have claimed.
Brigadier General Mohammed Samir, the Egyptian military’s chief spokesman, wrote on his Facebook page that al-Ansari was killed south of the Egyptian coastal city el-Arish.
Since the downfall of Egypt’s president Mohamed Morsi following a military coup d’état back in 2013, jihadists have rebelled against the army and police causing daily attacks in north Sinai, killing hundreds of policemen and soldiers”. Ansari was described as the group’s “number one” leader, a military source claimed.
Though the name of Abu Duaa al-Ansari is not widely known, he and his followers have carried out a number of attacks over the years; they abducted and beheaded Tomislav Salopek, a Croatian man who worked for French Geoscience company CGG; they bombed a Russian airline killing all 224 holidaymakers on board and are held responsible for the attacks on foreigners and diplomatic missions.
