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Law and Justice

Egypt executes 15 suspected Sinai militants

December 26, 2017

Egypt's president has vowed to use the "full range of violence" available to crack down on militants. Fifteen people suspected of carrying out attacks on security forces have been sent to the gallows.

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Soldier stands guard in the Sinai
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/A. Nabil

Egyptian authorities executed 15 people on Tuesday for attacking security forces in the Sinai region.

The militants were hanged in two northern prisons where they had been held since being sentenced for the attacks. 

Jihadists are waging an insurgency in the restive province and have been increasingly targeting security forces since the army overthrew Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013.

Read more: The long record of terror on the Sinai Peninsula

'Full range of violence'

Last week, general-turned-president Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi repeated his vow that the military would use its "full range of violence" against militants.

"We must, with God's help end terrorism there (in Sinai)," he said Saturday.

Last month, militants killed more than 300 worshippers praying at a mosque frequented by Sufis, followers of a mystical school of Islam that militants view as heretical.

On Sunday, nine suspected militants were killed during a police raid in northeastern Egypt, according to the Interior Ministry.  The alleged cell was based in Sharqiya province and was implicated in attacks on "security posts and military apparatus in North Sinai, which killed many members of the armed forces and police force," the ministry said in a statement.

aw/rc (AFP, Reuters, AP)

Map of North Sinai