File Photo: Egyptian soldiers keep guard (Photo: Reuters)
A conscript was shot dead on Wednesday by a sniper at a security checkpoint near North Sinai’s Sheikh Zuweid, Al-Ahram Arabic news website reported.
According to security sources, the 21-year-old conscript, Mohamed Ashraf Mohamed from Sharqiya governorate, was standing at a security checkpoint in El-Gora, north of Sheikh Zuweid, when he was shot by an unknown assailant.
His body was taken to the mortuary at El-Arish Military Hospital.
No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, which comes one day after a decree issued by President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi extended the state of emergency in parts of North Sinai for three months starting 29 July.
Egypt's security forces are fighting a decade-long Islamist insurgency in parts of North Sinai that spiked following the ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013.
Hundreds of policemen and soldiers have since been killed by militants, and the army has stated that security operations have resulted in the killing hundreds of militants by security forces.
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