Egypt army officer, 5 gunmen killed in clash near Arish

By Ahmed Mohamed

CAIRO (AA) - An army officer and five gunmen were killed on Wednesday in a clash that erupted near the city of Al-Arish in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, according to a local security source.

One day earlier, an Egyptian army officer was killed and another two injured when a missile struck the Al-Arish airport.

Carried out by unknown perpetrators, the missile attack coincided with a visit to the area by the Egyptian ministers of defense and interior.

“Since yesterday, security forces have continued combing the area around the airport in search of the attackers,” local media outlets quoted an unnamed security source as saying.

“During these operations, five terrorist elements were found and neutralized," the same source said.

He went on to note that, during the fight, which occurred near the airport, an army officer had been killed by a bomb.

Egypt’s Al-Arish International Airport is located roughly 8 kilometers from the headquarters of the North Sinai Security Directorate.

Civilian flights at the airport have been suspended since 2013 due to the precarious security situation in and around Al-Arish.

The Sinai Peninsula has remained the epicenter of a militant insurgency since mid-2013, when the army ousted Mohamed Morsi -- Egypt’s first freely elected president -- in a bloody military coup.