Policeman Killed in Terrorist Attack in Sinai

Egyptian military vehicles in Sinai. (Reuters)
Egyptian military vehicles in Sinai. (Reuters)
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Policeman Killed in Terrorist Attack in Sinai

Egyptian military vehicles in Sinai. (Reuters)
Egyptian military vehicles in Sinai. (Reuters)

One Egyptian policeman was killed in a terrorist attack in al-Arish, North Sinai, according to tribal and medical eyewitnesses.

Sinai Tribal Union, a gathering of tribesmen who cooperate with the Egyptian authorities during security operations, announced that a security officer at Bir al-Abed Police Department, northeast of Sinai, survived an assassination attempt.

The incident happened when a group of masked gunmen opened fire at the officer's car, killing his driver immediately.

The Union issued a statement announcing the death of officer Ahmed Abdusalam, who was killed by extremists during the attack.

Mervat Saleh, a Bir Al-Abed resident who witnessed the incident, reported that she heard gunshots in front of her building, and after things calmed down, residents found out that someone attacked the sheriff’s car.

She added that the perpetrators were armed, masked, and targeted the car with heavy fire while it was parked in front of a pharmacy. However, the sheriff was inside the pharmacy and they shot his driver instead.

Saleh said that an ambulance rushed to the scene followed by policemen who immediately began combing the region looking for the attackers.

The witness also reported that the gunmen tried to drive the car away and kidnap the passenger, but the sheriff had the keys, so they hijacked the vehicle of a passerby and fled the scene.

The car was later found on al-Arish-Qantara highway, on the city’s eastern entrance.

Under-Secretary of Health Ministry Tarek Shawki told Asharq al-Awsat that Bir al-Abed Hospital received the body of Ahmed Abdusalam, 21, who sustained several gunshots.

Egyptian police pursue in North Sinai terrorist elements of “Wilayat Sinai” organization, which pledged allegiance to ISIS in 2014.

In 2018, the army, accompanied by the police, launched an operation against the militants in North and Central Sinai to cleanse the region from extremists affiliated with ISIS.

Terrorist attacks against security forces have dropped significantly in Sinai over the last period due to the army’s preemptive strikes on terrorist locations, according to observers.



Lebanon Bans Dealing with Hezbollah Financial Entity

A view shows Lebanon's Central Bank building in Beirut, Lebanon April 4, 2025. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir/File Photo
A view shows Lebanon's Central Bank building in Beirut, Lebanon April 4, 2025. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir/File Photo
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Lebanon Bans Dealing with Hezbollah Financial Entity

A view shows Lebanon's Central Bank building in Beirut, Lebanon April 4, 2025. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir/File Photo
A view shows Lebanon's Central Bank building in Beirut, Lebanon April 4, 2025. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir/File Photo

Lebanon's central bank has banned banks and brokerages from dealing with a Hezbollah-affiliated financial institution, according to a circular, a sign of the group's diminished sway over state affairs since its devastating war with Israel.

Keeping up military pressure on the Iran-backed group, Israel on Tuesday launched some of its heaviest airstrikes since a ceasefire in November, saying it hit training camps and weapons depots in east Lebanon. A security source in Lebanon said 12 people were killed, five of them Hezbollah fighters, Reuters reported.

Hezbollah has faced mounting pressures since the war, including financial ones.

In the circular, dated July 14 and reviewed by Reuters, Banque du Liban prohibited all licensed financial institutions in Lebanon from dealing directly or indirectly with unlicensed entities and listed Hezbollah's Al-Qard Al-Hassan as an example.

The US Department of Treasury imposed sanctions on Al-Qard Al-Hassan in 2007, saying Hezbollah used it as a cover to manage "financial activities and gain access to the international financial system".

Bolstered by its powerful arsenal, Hezbollah had long exercised decisive influence over Lebanese state affairs, but it was unable to impose its will in the formation of a post-war government in February.

Al-Qard Al-Hassan, founded in 1983, describes itself as a charitable organisation which provides loans to people according to Islamic principles that forbid interest. Israel struck some of its branches during its war with Hezbollah last year.

Operating as a not-for-profit organisation under a licence granted by the Lebanese government, it has more than 30 branches, mostly in southern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley.

SHADOW ECONOMY

A Lebanese official said the central bank move had been in the works for months, and reflected US pressure on Lebanon to take action against Hezbollah's financial wing.

Nassib Ghobril, chief economist at Byblos Bank, said Lebanese banks were already careful to avoid dealing with Al-Qard Al-Hassan because it is under US sanctions.

"The important point is that finally the authorities are addressing the shadow economy in Lebanon, which is the real problem," he said, adding that authorities had long failed to address its "toxic effects".

In June, the European Commission included Lebanon in an updated list of high-risk jurisdictions presenting strategic deficiencies in their national anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism.

Last year, global financial crime watchdog FATF placed Lebanon on its "grey list" of countries under special scrutiny.