Breaking : Exclusively In Photos : Large Explosion Strikes National Security Building in Greater Cairo

Car bomb blast at security facility heard across Greater Cairo

At least six policemen were injured as car bomb was remotely detonated north of Cairo, no deaths have been reported

A large explosion has rocked Greater Cairo, with the force of the explosion heard all the way from Qalubiya’s Shubra El-Kheima to Zamalek and Maadi in Cairo.

Egypt’s Ministry of Health stated that the attack injured at least 23 people. The Ministry of Interior released a statement reporting that six security personnel had been injured in the explosion that targeted the National Security Building in Shubra El-Kheima.

The National Security building in Shubra El-Kheima, which is approximately 11 kilometers from downtown Cairo.

According to the Ministry of Interior, a car stopped in front of the building and had been followed by a motorcycle. The driver then fled the car, hopped onto the motorcycle and drove away moments before the car exploded.

Egypt’s security forces have since shut down near by roads to attempt to catch the perpetrators of the attack.

  

  

A car bomb blast destroyed the facade of a National Security building in Qaliubiya's Shubra El-Kheima district, north of Cairo

A huge car bomb explosion in front of National Security premises and near a court building in Qaliubiya's Shubra El-Kheima district was heard all across Greater Cairo in the early hours of Thursday.

No deaths have been reported so far while at least six policemen were injured in the terrorist attack, said Ahmed El-Ansary, head of Egypt's ambulance authority.

A driver parked the car bomb in front of the National Security building then escaped upon riding a motorcycle that followed him, according to a statement issued by the interior ministry on Facebook.

The parked car was remotely detonated as perpetrators are still at larger, with security forces searching the area to capture them.

The explosion has damaged buildings and vehicles in the area and shattered window panes, a security source told .

Shubra El-Kheima district is located north of Cairo and is considered part of Greater Cairo. On social media, residents from different Cairo districts say the blast was pretty loud.

Egypt has witnessed waves of bomb attacks primarily targeting policemen and police facilities since the ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in July 2013. 

No militant group has claimed responsibility for the Shubra El-Kheima attack thus far.

Islamist militants claimed responsibility for a host of bombings over the past two years, including IS-affiliated Sinai Province group, formally known as Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis.

The previous bomb attack that was heard all across Cairo was on 24 January, 2014 when a car bomb went off in front of the Cairo Security Directorate, killing four and destroying the building facade. Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis claimed responsibility for it.

Egypt army : Three soldiers killed, four injured in militant attack in North Sinai

Three Egyptian army soldiers were killed and four injured in a militant attack by terrorists on Saturday evening against a security checkpoint south of the town of Sheikh Zueid in North Sinai, a military spokesman said.

Spokesman Mohamed Samir said on his official Facebook page that the army had been engaging the militants in battle in three different areas south of the town. He said that the army destroyed two vehicles and killed a number of militants in the Al-Hamadein area near Al-Zawarae, south of Sheikh Zuweid.

The Islamic State's Egypt affiliate, Sinai Province, has claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement carried on a social media website. 

Earlier in the evening, state news had reported that five soldiers were killed and seven injured in a militant attack against Abu Refae security checkpoint south of Sheikh Zuweid.

Security sources had told that "terrorists" attacked the checkpoint with live ammunition and bombs.

On 1 July, Islamic State group militants launched multiple attacks against army and security forces in and around Sheikh Zuweid, leaving 21 soldiers dead.

In the past two weeks, the Egyptian army, which regained control over the town on the same day after fierce battles, has been carrying out intense strikes against militant hideouts which reportedly left more than 200 militants dead.

Security forces kill 70 isis militants in North Sinai over the past 48 hours

Leading Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis figure Kamal Allam was killed during the raids on Thursday

No less than 70 militants were killed in North Sinai by Egyptian security forces over the past 48 hours following a deadly attack by the Islamic State-affiliated Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis on the city of Sheikh Zuwied, as reported.

Security sources told that 35 militants were killed Wednesday night while another 35 militants were killed on Thursday.

The sources added that those militants were killed during their attempt to escape the Egyptian air forces' strikes and that they were killed by the landmines they had previously planted on the highways targeting Egyptian security forces. 

The sources revealed that among the militants who were killed on Thursday was leading Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis figure Kamal Allam. 

On Wednesday, North Sinai witnessed the largest terrorist attack of its kind by ABM militants where battles between the Egyptian armed forces and militants continued for several hours in the Sheikh Zuwied area. 

Battles between Islamist militants and the Egyptian army in North Sinai left at least 117 people dead — 17 army soldiers and 100 militants, according to official statements by the Egyptian armed forces.

Breaking : UPDATED: Six soldiers killed in North ‪#‎Sinai‬ attack

Roadside bomb hits armoured vehicle on Al-Arish to Sheikh Zuweid highway

A first lieutenant, a sergeant and four conscripts were killed when their armoured vehicle was bombed in North Sinai on Sunday morning, army spokesman Mohamed Samir announced on Sunday.

Two other soldiers were also injured when the roadside bomb exploded on the Al-Arish to Sheikh Zuweid highway.

The injured were taken to Al-Arish military hospital.

Egypt's army has been fighting a decade-long militant Islamist insurgency that has spiked since the ouster of president Mohamed Morsi in summer 2013.

Hundreds of police and soldiers as well civilians have been killed in militant attacks.

Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis, an Islamist militant group, has claimed many of the attacks against the army and police in Sinai.

In November 2014, the group swore allegiance to Islamic State, which has taken over vast areas of Syria and Iraq and now operates in Libya.

Breaking News : : Army Kidnapped Egyptian police captain in Sinai found dead

Ayman El-Desouki was kidnapped while travelling on a bus in North Sinai on Monday



 Kidnapped police captain Ayman El-Desouki was found dead on Tuesday in the restive Sinai Peninsula, Egypt's army announced in a statement.

A military spokesperson described the killing as "cowardly."

"We extend our deep condolences to the family of the late policeman, and we stress that such incidents increase our determination to fight all kinds of terrorism in Egypt," the statement read.

El-Desouki, an officer in the ports security division, was on a bus in North Sinai on Monday when alleged members of militant group Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis(ABM)  – who had set up a checkpoint – searched the bus and took him to an unknown location.

Egypt`s general prosecutor, Hisham Barakat, imposed on Monday a gag order on the incident because the matter was still being investigated.

ABM, which has claimed responsibility for a number of terrorist attacks, including the killing of 30 army personnel in October, pledged allegiance to Islamic State last November.

Egypt’s security forces have been facing a decade-long jihadist insurgency based in the Sinai Peninsula, with militant attacks increasing over the past 18 months and expanding into Cairo and the Nile Delta, killing hundreds of army and police personnel.

Security approval required for Egyptian travellers to Turkey and Iraq: MOI

Egyptian travellers aged 18 to 40 will be subject to the provision at a time the interior ministry calls 'exceptional' for the region

 

Ministry of interior stipulates security approval from pass control for travelers to Turkey and Iraq

Egyptians wishing to travel to Turkey or Iraq are now required to get security approval from passport control authorities.

General Aiman Hamed, chief of the media bureau for the interior ministry told that the decision came earlier this week during “exceptional timing" for the region.

Hamed mentioned that the decision only affects travelers between 18 and 40 years of age.

The new decision does not affect Libya, which has only recently stipulated that Egyptians acquire a visa to cross the border after decades of unrestricted border movement.

Turkey is currently the easiest border to cross into northern Syria through the crossings of Gaziantep and Bab Al-Hawa. Cities in northern Syria, particularly Raqqah and large parts of Aleppo have fallen under the control of the Islamic State organisation, escalating instability in the restless country.

IS has took over Mosul city in Iraq last June without a significant resistance from Iraqi forces. Battles are also ongoing in Iraq, especially around Beiji oil refinery in Saladin province and in Anbar.

Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis, a jihadist group operating in Egypt’s North Sinai governorate pledged loyalty to IS in early November shortly after a major militant attack in the Sheikh Zuweid border city that left more than 30 army personnel dead and dozens injured.

The Egyptian extremist group has claimed dozens of militant operations against the Egyptian police and army that have killed dozens of security personnel throughout the past year.

The recent decision by the interior minister coincides with a broad campaign launched by the armed forces that aims to "purge North Sinai of terrorist elements.” The campaign includes a two-phased plan to create a buffer zone along 1,500 metres on the border with the Gaza Strip; the first phase resulted in the evacuation of tens of families and the destruction of hundreds of houses in the border city of Rafah.