Islamic State senior leader in Egypt’s Sinai killed

The Islamic State group says one of its leaders in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula has been killed.

The group’s Aamaq news agency announced the death of Abu Hamza al-Maqdisi late Monday, calling him a “martyr” without saying where or how he died. A photo of a young, smiling, bearded man accompanied the report. IS says he was killed recently, without specifying the day.

Egypt has been battling militants for years, but the Sinai-based insurgency gained strength after the 2013 military overthrow of the country’s first elected president, the Islamist Mohammed Morsi, whose brief rule was divisive.

In February, Egypt launched a massive operation against militants in Sinai and other parts of the country.

Source: Daily Mail