It has been a week since an unanticipated attack on North Sinai by a terrorist group affiliated with the Islamic State left 17 young army conscripts dead, in the latest wave of violence to plague the province. The group, which calls itself Sinai Province, attacked several checkpoints around the town of Sheikh Zuweid in the early hours of July 1st. Yet, aside from conflicting reports on the number, there appeared to be a marked indifference towards the martyred soldiers as media attention shifted to the sheer number of terrorists taken out by the operation, the scale of the attack, or even the bulk of the confiscated artillery. This attack comes as the latest in a series of nearly annual assaults on Egyptian troops in the Sinai Peninsula targeting military checkpoints close to the Egyptian border, as the country commences its war on terror. In August 2012, which coincided with the holy month of Ramadan that year, an attack on the Rafah border crossing by unknown assailants left 16 young soldiers dead at the call of the Maghrib prayer. The incident sparked public outcry, with many public figures demanding that President…
Media Silence A Week After Terrorist Attacks in Egypt: Negligence or Gag Order?
July 7, 2015
