RAFAH, Egypt, Nov. 15 (UPI) — Authorities on Sunday said they found the bodies of 15 African migrants who were shot to death south of the town of Rafah in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula.
At least eight others were found injured but not killed. The nationalities of the migrants and the identities of their attackers have not been confirmed.
Egypt has battled Islamist militants in the Sinai Peninsula ever since the 2013 overthrow of former President Mohamed Morsi, including the Islamic State-affiliated Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, which has re-branded itself as the “Sinai Province.”
Last month Egyptian security forces said they killed at least 25 militants during Martyr’s Right, a joint police and military operation launched in the peninsula in September. The Oct. 25 clashes came one day after gunmen killed a conservative parliamentary candidate living in the region.
Earlier this month, a U.S. official said there was physical evidence suggesting terrorists likely planted a bomb aboard a Russian jetliner that exploded over the peninsula on Oct. 31, killing all 224 passengers and crew.
