DHAKA: The leader of the Sinai branch of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group has been killed in a series of air strikes south of the peninsula’s El Arish town.

Egypt military said Abu Duaa al-Ansari was killed together with 45 other ISIL fighters in an operation guided by “accurate intelligence”, Brigadier-General Mohammed Samir, the military’s chief spokesman, said on his Facebook page.

He also said the army destroyed arms and ammunition stores used by the group, but did not say when the operation took place, reports the Al Jazeera.

There was no immediate confirmation from Sinai Province, ISIL’s offshoot in Egypt'’s Sinai Peninsula.

Egyptian forces have been battling the group for years but the violence has grown deadlier since the 2013 overthrow by the military of Mohamed Morsi, the elected president.

Aaron Reese, a security analyst who specializes in Egypt’s Sinai, told Al Jazeera that while the killing is apparently a big victory for Egyptian security forces, but it may not reduce attacks.

BDST: 1821 HRS, AUG 05, 2016
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