Sinai’s security chief injured and manager killed in car bombing

The head of north Sinai's security division narrowly escaped an assassination attempt while his colleague was killed when a car bomb exploded in al-Arish.
2 min read
18 May, 2018
The northern Sinai has been subject to a prolonged IS-affiliated insurgency [Getty]
The head of central security in Egypt's restive northern Sinai province was injured and his office manager killed when a car bomb exploded in the town of al-Arish at dawn on Friday.

Medical sources from al-Arish military hospital told The New Arab that "an explosive device planted in the vehicle of Major General Nasser Hussein, the head of the central security forces in the northern Sinai governate, exploded as the Major General was inspecting the security infrastructure in the Safa neighbourhood of al-Arish."

Sources added that Major General Hussein was seriously injured and would be transported by helicopter to receive military treatment in the city of Ismailia.

The explosion killed Officer Abdul Majid al-Mahi, General Hussein's office manager, the sources said.

Tributes to al-Mahi were posted on Twitter, describing him as heroic with photos of him and his daughter.


Hospitals in the northern Sinai have been experiencing severe shortages of supplies as the Egyptian army continues its crackdown on Islamic State-affiliated militants in the region. As part of the campaign, goods as well as food, medical and water supplies, are restricted from coming into the desert region.

The attack targeting the security chief comes after weeks of relative calm in the province that has witnessed an Islamic State-affiliated insurgency over recent years.

Hussein had been the subject of an assassination attempt last November when his motorcade was bombed, also in al-Arish, but he was unharmed.