ISIS Claims Abduction of Coptic Man in North Sinai

Egyptian authorities launched an operation in 2018 to purge northern Sinai of terrorists. (Reuters)
Egyptian authorities launched an operation in 2018 to purge northern Sinai of terrorists. (Reuters)
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ISIS Claims Abduction of Coptic Man in North Sinai

Egyptian authorities launched an operation in 2018 to purge northern Sinai of terrorists. (Reuters)
Egyptian authorities launched an operation in 2018 to purge northern Sinai of terrorists. (Reuters)

Egypt’s ISIS affiliate claimed responsibility for abducting a Coptic man in Sinai about one week ago, a website supporting ISIS in North Sinai said on Saturday.

The relatives of Adib Nakhla, 45, learned of his kidnapping a week ago, but could not confirm that he was held by ISIS, said a source that is close to the family.

Unknown armed men stopped a car Nakhla was traveling in, the source said, explaining that he was on his way from Qantara city in Ismailia (west Sinai) to Arish city in North Sinai.

They forcibly grabbed him from among a group of passengers in the bus after checking their personal IDs, he added.

“Nakhla is among a group of Copts living in Qantara city. He was on his way to visit his family and friends who live in Arish when they lost contact with him.”

“His family were surprised to see his picture published with a statement asserting his abduction by terrorists without further details about his fate” the source noted.

The terrorist group posted a statement on social media along with a picture of someone holding papers and facing an unknown person, without mentioning his name.

Gunmen ambushed an area west of Arish and captured the forensic expert, one of Egypt’s Christians, the statement said.

On Tuesday, the military said Egyptian security forces had killed 59 militants in the Sinai peninsula recently and had lost seven of their own men.

The military launched in mid-February the Comprehensive Operation − Sinai 2018 to restore security in the mountainous and densely populated governorate.

Bishop of North Sinai Anba Qazman announced during Christmas celebrations in Arish’s Archdiocese earlier this month that local authorities in North Sinai have assured him of the return of all Copts to North Sinai during 2019.

Copts have fled north Sinai after being targeted by ISIS over the past three years.

According to security and church sources, only about 40 Coptic families remain in northern Sinai and live in secured houses within Arish.



Israeli Settlers Accused of Killing 117 Sheep in West Bank Attack

Palestinians checks wounded sheep after settlers attack a Bedouin community in the Jordan valley, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, July 18, 2025. REUTERS/Ali Sawafta
Palestinians checks wounded sheep after settlers attack a Bedouin community in the Jordan valley, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, July 18, 2025. REUTERS/Ali Sawafta
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Israeli Settlers Accused of Killing 117 Sheep in West Bank Attack

Palestinians checks wounded sheep after settlers attack a Bedouin community in the Jordan valley, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, July 18, 2025. REUTERS/Ali Sawafta
Palestinians checks wounded sheep after settlers attack a Bedouin community in the Jordan valley, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, July 18, 2025. REUTERS/Ali Sawafta

Palestinian Bedouins accused Israeli settlers on Friday of killing 117 sheep in an overnight attack and stealing hundreds of others in an apparent effort to chase farmers off their land in the occupied West Bank.

The incident comes amid what the United Nations described this week as intensifying attacks by Jewish settlers and security forces against Palestinians in the West Bank and record mass displacements, according to Reuters.

The Israeli army did not respond to a request for comment about the mass slaughter of the animals belonging to the Arab al-Kaabaneh Bedouin community, in the Jordan Valley.

Veterinarians were called in to treat a handful of sheep which had survived the knife and gun attack, some of the animals shaking uncontrollably and in apparent shock.

Salem Salman Mujahed, a resident of Arab al-Kaabaneh, said multiple groups of settlers working in coordination had orchestrated the assault, and accused the army of standing by.

"(Settlers) came near the houses. I asked them what are you doing here then we started fighting with each other," he said. "The army detained me, and they handcuffed me."

He said other groups of settlers then attacked the sheep, which are vital to his community's survival.

Palestinian Minister Moayad Shaaban condemned the incident, calling it part of a broader strategy to displace Palestinians from the region.

"These sheep and animals were slaughtered and shot at," he told Reuters. "They are using these tools to terrify these people to leave these areas, which have been inhabited for dozens of years."

MOVING AWAY

The attack prompted at least one family to begin relocating.

Bedouin Tareq Kaabaneh said he could no longer withstand what he called settler intimidation.

"They were armed, they steal donkeys and sheep. In the night they come here and start shooting toward us," Kaabaneh said.

"I am moving now from here, I want to protect my kids and my sheep, my livelihood ... yesterday I was safe, but I don't know what will happen to me tomorrow," he added.

The United Nations reported this week that mass displacements in the West Bank had reached levels unprecedented since Israel first took military control of the territory nearly six decades ago.

The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva also said there had been 757 settler attacks on Palestinians or their properties since January - a 13% increase from the same period last year.

At least 964 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and settlers in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, since the start of the war in Gaza in October 2023. Over the same period, 53 Israelis have been killed in attacks by Palestinians or in armed clashes.

The US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee demanded this week a full investigation into the killing of a Palestinian American who was beaten to death by settlers in the West Bank on July 11, describing it as a "criminal and terrorist act".

The United Nations' highest court said last year that Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories, including the West Bank, was illegal and should end as soon as possible.

Israel disputes this, citing security needs as well as historical and biblical ties to the land, which it captured in the 1967 Middle East war. The West Bank is among the territories Palestinians seek for an independent state.